Crikey, good 'ole Pres. Trump and his team seem to be 'hitting the ground running' in the first week. Ditching trade agreements under negotiation, squaring up to China in the S.China seas, getting billionaire M8's into his Cabinet, dissing the EU and renewing his vows on the wall on the Mexican border and to return illegal immigrants, mooting harsher interrogation for terrorism suspects and so on.Hells bells ! As DT now has to be considered a 'Politician', (or does he ?), here is a 'Politician' doing what he promised.

Donald Trump is older than me and most of K-F.And running the World's only true 'superpower'.But in this case, maybe not moving in a good direction?Sorry about this Guys - it's the Grauniad again !Just MVHO but I could be wrong. Again.Max. eighteen months before the Republicans get rid of him ?

Hells bells ! As soon as I read one Trump headline in my beloved 'Grauniad', it gets relegated and a NEW one appears . .

First listening to 'The World Tonight' on BBC, it seems that Bob Ferguson, Attorney General for the State of Washington, is going to challenge Pres. Trump's 90 day ban on immigration from 7 Arab states, on multiple grounds, as being in contravention of the U.S. Constitution. Ferguson has the support of Companies such as Amazon, Expedia, Facebook, Apple, Starbucks and Box. Other States too are considering action.

The volatile nature of President Trump might arguably actually increase the deterrent value but we are just as likely to end up in some awful mess somewhere. Just MO.

I ask how long Pres. Trump can stand up to being vilified and sued without moderating his style or maybe, giving up. President of the USA is much more complicated than running his admittedly massive businesses.

President Trump on President Putin of Russia :-''He is a leader of his country. I say it’s better to get along with Russia than not and if Russia helps us in the fight against Isis which is a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all over the world, major fight, that’s a good thing''.

Better to get along with than not to get along with. I agree. And better not to push dangerous Leaders like Putin too much to the margins.

Trump's comments on new Israeli settlements in occupied territory also seemed correct to me. Let's hope DT can hold it together in the face of all the criticism and embarassment with the Juduciary overturning his Immigration measures.

Well the DT comment about Israeli settlements doesn't amount to much apparently - more's the pity. I wonder if the greatest achievement of DT will be to rid the UK of the IMHO undesirable John Bercow as Speaker of the House of Commons ? Better not to push dangerous Leaders to the margin - DT ? Aussie where are you ? Jivvy ?

President Trump has a 'humiliating' (the BBC's word) defeat over healthcare changes.The Bill is pulled because of a lack of support from some Republicans - Pres. Trump tried to force it through but his bluff failed.

Just heard the comment, 'over the last 8 years, all the Republicans had to do was disagree with the Democrats, now they have to learn to agree among themselves'. Oh Dear ! 'The Art of the Deal'.

Opinion from Tim Stanley in the DT. Some confusion as to how the rest of the Donald's agenda will be financed now . . . ATM this Presidency is NOT going well !Obama having a quiet chuckle ?

''On the one hand, the failure of Trumpcare is obviously an embarrassment to the great deal maker. Take this vainglorious tweet from 2014: “Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully or write poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That's how I get my kicks.”

On the other hand, this is a defeat that fair-minded people cannot pin exclusively on The Donald. Anything he could've offered the conservatives would've alienated the moderates, and vice versa. And these divisions over Obamacare long predated Trump. The conservative Freedom Caucus, which was primarily to blame for the legislative failure, was a product of the Tea Party revolution and represents a militant, anti-big government attitude that any Republican president would’ve had trouble winning over. Do you think Mitt Romney – dismissed as a "Massachusetts moderate" in 2012 – would’ve done any better? No.

I could go one step further and say that Trump actually benefits from this turn of events. If Obamacare had been repealed, poor and older whites would’ve been among those who would’ve suffered the most – and that’s Trump’s key constituency.

Here we go - a timeworn scenario.Foreign adventures the antidote to problems at home.Let's hope DT can get some cooperation from China.But a major row between President Trump and President Xi is just as likely ?

The World awaits what happens next . . .How will Russia, China and N. Korea react ?DT may be a man to scorn but a man to fear too !From the Guardian today :-''On Syria, Donald Trump has performed a U-turn so screeching, so dizzying, you can smell the burned rubber from here. Just 72 hours before these airstrikes, his administration was all but flashing a green light at Assad, hinting that he could do what he liked. Pull back further, and the volte-face is even more stunning. For years, Trump was adamant that he would stay out of Syria. Even when chemical weapons were used in August 2013, killing an estimated 1,300 people in Ghouta, Trump was firm: “What will we get for bombing Syria besides more debt and a possible long-term conflict?” he tweeted.Above all, Trump will relish the comparisons with his predecessor. In 2013, Obama hesitated and havered over Syria’s use of chemical weapons, a Hamlet on the Potomac, his hand eventually stayed, in part, by Ed Miliband’s decision to vote down UK support for military action against Assad. Again, Trump was among those urging Obama to do nothing, further insisting that Obama needed congressional approval.

That scruple, along with everything else, will be forgotten now, as Trump revels in a comparison that, in his view, makes him look more decisive, more macho and even more humane than Obama. As Niblett says: “Trump has upheld a norm which Barack Obama, the great values president, did not.”But that cannot alter the fact that, even as you welcome the act, its author remains wholly untrustworthy. Trump wanted us to believe he had been moved to action by the pictures of dead children in Khan Sheikhun. But what of all the “beautiful babies” killed away from the TV cameras these last six years, by bombs of a different variety? When they were being slaughtered, Trump was happy to shrug off their deaths, sending his secretary of state and his UN ambassador out just days ago to give Assad the wink that he could carry on as before. It’s not reassuring to think that the American president does not listen to his intelligence briefings or even read the papers, but only acts when a tragedy hits primetime.''

As Team DT attempts the hopeless task (IMO) of pressuring Putin's Russia to end support for Assad's embattled Syria, there are ominous noises about N.Korea.

Reported on April 5th. ''Tillerson responded to the test with an a enigmatic statement saying only: “The United States has spoken enough about North Korea. We have no further comment.” A few hours earlier, before news of the new missile launch broke, a senior Trump administration official suggested time was running out for a diplomatic solution. ''

Reported on April 9th. ''The US navy will move a strike group towards the western Pacific Ocean to provide a presence near the Korean peninsula, a US official said on Saturday.Trump tells Japan 'all options on the table' in face of North Korea provocation. The Carl Vinson strike group, which includes an aircraft carrier, will make its way from Singapore, according to the official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.''

DT has just met with President Xi of China. Will Xi be able to rein in N.Korea ?

Just MO but the it looks like the next 'provocation' from N. Korea may be it's last ?Or it's last may be it's LAST ! President Trump takes pride in his dangerous freedom to press buttons at will.

The Telegraph Syria crisis: Russia raises prospect of war if it is given G7 ultimatum as it mocks Boris Johnson's no-show http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/08/boris-johnson-spearhead-diplomatic-drive-get-russian-forces/

The GuardianGlobal Times warns of catastrophic consequences if the US launch a strike against Pyongyang, after navy moves strike group to western Pacific https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/10/syria-strike-designed-to-intimidate-north-korea-chinese-state-newspaper-says

I'm disappointed Boris isn't going - by not talking we push Putin more and more to the margins.

Apparently an MOAB costs USD 16 million and the one yesterday may have killed up to (maximum) 36 ISIS fighters, so that upwards of USD 444,000 per corpse. It was probably much cheaper to kill the 18 killed in friendly fire. Still, plenty more tax dollars where they came from.

It's beginning to feel like the Cuban Missile crisis ?I remember my Mum then, crying in the car on Exmouth sea front, in a spot I could find now. Hopefully N.K. will back down . . If not, the Chinese - but they are not known for it.BTW, these are pretty wild headlines for the Daily T.The trouble for me is, I understand where Donald T is coming from, but it ain't that simple.

''Less than 100 days into this presidency, it is blissfully clear what kind of leader Trump is. He has made the awesome transition from a neophyte candidate into a neophyte president; from a man who bluffed and blustered his way in TV debates to a man who bluffs and blusters his way through international crises.

Here is a small-time businessman who knew nothing about foreign affairs, who has grown into a nuclear-armed president who knows nothing about foreign affairs. He used to fire B-list celebrities on TV; now he just fires off tweets and Tomahawks after watching TV.

To put it mildly, it is troubling for any White House – at a time of high tensions with a rogue nuclear state – to act as dumb or duplicitous as Donald Trump. Machiavelli argued that it is better to be feared than loved. It’s also better to look like something other than a fool.

Because that’s what you look like when you misstate the mission and location of an entire aircraft carrier group: specifically, the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz class, nuclear-powered beast of the seas, accompanied by a strike force of two destroyers and a cruiser.''

misstate the mission and location of an entire aircraft carrier group: specifically, the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz class, nuclear-powered beast of the seas, accompanied by a strike force of two destroyers and a cruiser.''

Do you think he misstated it, or he was kept in the dark by the Pentagon? On balance he should have known and was probably told, but did not look on a map to see where it was or which direction it was travelling and just assumed it was close by. He is clearly used to being able to say whatever he wants without consequence and cannot moderate his words: Obama, being a lawyer by training, would pause and consider his choice of words very carefully.

China may take this opportunity to 'solve' the problem by dramatically increasing their direct intervention in N Korea, giving them a mandate as a global peacemaker. Catapulted by this, the dispute over control of the South China Sea will become much more complex with the US having been displaced as the regional power. All those nations will be forced to accept China's redrawn map knowing they cannot rely on a strong US for support. Previous US administrations were 'disengaged' from the N Korean issue for very good reasons....

CK, I've been listening to the BBC and on balance, it sounds to me that DT may either have been misled or misunderstood.

But just maybe DT has been clever and played a bit of a bluff, knowing his Armada was due to play with the Australian Navy, (those exercises completed ?), and keeping N.Korea under pressure while China talks to them.

The Press will deride DT at every opportunity.Probably rightly, but in this case, we may never know.

I stand by my view that China will ride in on 'white knight' mission, quietly remove Kim Jong-un, and start reshaping N Korea. N Korea will be 1000x better. The world will accept China as a great peacemaker. But is the US prepared to accept that the consequence is that it is no longer the major power in Asia? And then S Korea has China as a neighbour, with the historic Chinese position regarding Korea (which dates to the Ming period) coming true. An N Korea controlled by China is vastly more dangerous to S Korea. Will the US be prepared to face up to that threat?

Honestly, it does not bother me if this happens. China seems to be well run, has no expansionist ideas (other than those known) and is pragmatic. From a western perspective, what would be the issue? Dealing with a broadly cooperative China must surely be better than dealing with a Russia controlled by an ex-KGB agent bent on playing out his playbook? Hong Kong seems to be okay. But I wouldn't want to be Taiwan. If I were the US, I'd agitate along the Russian/Chinese border to deflect attention.

''Speaking at the conference at Yale’s School of Medicine on Thursday, one of the mental health professionals, Dr John Gartner, a practising psychotherapist who advised psychiatric residents at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, said: ''We have an ethical responsibility to warn the public about Donald Trump's dangerous mental illness. Worse than just being a liar or a narcissist, in addition he is paranoid, delusional and grandiose thinking and he proved that to the country the first day he was President.''

It's hard to hear a good word said about President Trump, except from his diehard supporters. He is being given a hard time from all directions and on any pretext. I know we have some USA K-F's and I wonder what they are feeling about the presentation of and comments about the USA and DT atm ?

This is a tremendous article, of tremendous length, about a tremendous man, and let me tell you, the leader of a tremendous nation, the best in the world, with the world's finest military, the single best president in the world, with a great government that will make great things happen again and that has already established great relationships with countries due to the president's great chemistry, a great foundation for future things, massive, huge, greatest president in the history of.... blah blah blah.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce this great article from this great news website. A great interview with a great man.

Alfie - just looked at that 'Youtube' - President Chump and his 25 ascendancies mocked in a wicked collection of clips. DT's 'loose talking' style does him no favours and makes him look quite stupid sometimes. Let's see if his actions with China over N.Korea bear any fruit, or will there be a disaster out there ?

Trump has fired FBI chief James Comey, purportedly over the handling of the inquiry into Hillary Clinton's emails although Democrats seem to think it was because of the FBI's investigation of alleged links between Trump and Russia. It could get interesting. :D

Yes the DT's AAP thinks the firing of the FBI Director is interesting too ! :o

''The more that the White House is embroiled in crisis and fighting for survival, the less likely that this reckless, ill-timed, late-cycle, populist, fiscal debauchery will actually occur. Larger matters are at stake of course. Mr Trump has shown that he is an irascible demagogue, with abysmal strategic judgment and prone to impetuous acts. We are dealing with a man all too capable of abusing American military power for almost any purpose and at any moment. In the thirty-five years that I have been covering US and global affairs, I cannot recall a more dangerous confluence of circumstances.''

''Donald Trump allegedly revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in an Oval Office meeting last week. The Washington Post reported on Monday that Trump shared details of intelligence gathered of an Isis threat that had been closely guarded within the United States government and among close US allies.''

The same report is covered in many UK papers today.No comment from the White House yet . .

If I remember rightly, back at the time of the election, some of us were predicting that President Trump would last NOT more than 18 months in Office before impeachment. Apparently the possibility is already being looked at :-

''Around midday on Monday, Congressman Al Green, a Democrat from Texas, held a press conference to call for the impeachment of Donald Trump. The firing of FBI director James Comey, Green said, was an obstruction of justice falling clearly into that basket of “high crimes and misdemeanors” prescribed in the constitution as grounds for impeachment.''

Now undoubtedly DT is getting a rough if not an unfair ride from the media in the USA and worldwide. But if he continues in the same vein, an 'impeachment' could be a reality. He's not making Friends atm.

It would be nice though if DT can shake the tree a bit more before he goes.

Right now it seems as though there is more energy and hot air being expended on White House dramas and crises than on matters of real import. We non-Americans look on from a distance rather amazed and certainly puzzled. The President of the United States and his Administration has always projected a certain worldwide respect - grudging, admittedly, by some and barring the odd 'clowns', but over the past 3 or 4 months this would seem to be a fast diminishing sentiment. We have the in-fighting between the Oval Office and the media, the Russia and the Comey factors and - as you say, Roger, talk of impeachment. Whilst perhaps legal and therefore possible it doesn't necessarily make it likely, I suspect, given that the Republican controlled House would have to turn on its own leader. As for the masses that support Trump, they would have to admit that they got it wrong and although 'Teflon Don' might be losing his coating a bit he still appeals to these guys and tells them what they want to hear, so I don't see that happening either. I've rather ceased to be surprised at whatever the latest revelation is on the US political scene, but I look forward to seeing how his upcoming visits go to the three centres of monotheistic religions; viz Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, after which he is going to drop in on the NATO summit in Brussels - how magnanimous!. His position vis-à-vis Iran will probably win him points with the Saudis and the Israelis; not sure how his visit will go with Papa Pancho in the Vatican.

Thanks for that Hector. No doubt of it - the 24 hour media and social media plus the Democrats and some Republicans are having a go at DT at every opportunity.Twas ever thus ? And DT surely had to expect this treatment ?

Apparently the notes of James Comey of 'that' meeting will carry a lot of weight particularly if he discussed them with others later. If tapes do exist as DT implied, that will resolve the matters decisively. Shades of the Nixon drama.

If President Trump can avoid disasters on this Foreign trip it'll give him a bit of respite but who knows ? It'll be interesting to see what he gets up to at the NATO summit and particularly, to see how the European national leaders react to his entreaties about meeting their 2% obligation.

At least DT is getting a fair hearing on KF today and I wonder what our USA KF's think about it all ?

But - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-james-comey-white-house-official-impeach-latest-a7739846.html

Going back a bit, for all the hot air being expended in Washington that Hector observed, I don't think we should think that's just all it is. Hot air makes a big balloon rise !

When a Media roll begins and combines with events and widely held antagonism, there can be a relentless pressure which often causes a change. I've noticed it in the UK sometimes - it rolls on and on until someone falls. (Just wish that could be true of a certain J Corbyn).

Pundits and Politicians are already articulating 'Impeachment' and I have also read some comment about the possibility of a 'Resignation'.

I wonder if USA KF's are a little wistful for the days of Obama, who is in Europe atm on a personal visit. The Guardian's writer seem to be . . . .

''Coinciding visits, although unintentional, serve to highlight Europe’s radically different view of the incumbent president and his ‘painfully missed’ predecessor. A Pew Research Center survey last June found 77% of Europeans had confidence in Obama – and 9% in the man who has now succeeded him.''

“Already he is a painfully missed ex-president,” the newspaper wrote in an editorial, describing him as an “eloquent, charismatic preacher” – qualities it suggested were sorely lacking in Trump. Obama and Trump have not met or spoken since the inauguration, and that seems unlikely to change, especially since Trump repeatedly accused his predecessor –without any evidence – of having him bugged during the campaign.

Sometimes I agree 100% with a position President Trump takes - it seems to me that he is 100% in the right about Nato funding. ;) I've picked some bits out of this DT article which includes a clip of Trump bullying schoolboy Macron with a tough handshake.

''Mr Trump had come to Brussels - a city he infamously referred to as a “hellhole” - to make plain that America is fed up with picking up the tab for Europe's security: some 70% of all Nato spending comes from Washington. “Over the last 8 years the US has spent more on defence than all Nato members combined,” added Mr Trump. Mrs Merkel looked as if she had swallowed a wasp, while Emmanuel Macron, the new French president, beamed a smile that mixed embarrassment and incredulity at the sheer directness of Mr Trump’s attack.''

It's been an interesting week watching Trump around the World. I must say the Pope looked a bit glum after their meeting.

DT is dreaming! What is he suggesting? Americans should only buy American cars, and Germans buy German cars? Or does he think Germans will want to buy American cars?

As far as I am aware, I can only buy cars made by Jeep and the Mustang made by Ford, manufactured in the USA, here in the UK. All because US manufacturers traditionally cannot be bothered to engineer their cars in RHD. Cadillac tried and failed, because the product was priced at premium levels (competing with Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar) but not engineered to the same level. It was, as with many US cars, engineered to a US price point and therefore inferior to its European (and Japanese) competition when compared like-for-like. And more lax safety regulations made the situation worse.

For all DT saying he will 'make America great again' if he wants better trade, he needs to remember that America needs to produce great products at a competitive price.

The first shows Donald Trump pushing himself past the prime minister of Montenegro during a tour of NATO's new headquarters on 25 May. It looks to me like he did it because he wanted to be first in front of the cameras. Unnecessarily aggressive, in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iimj0j4NYME

The second appears to show Melania Trump swatting Donald's hand away. For what reason I don't know. What I find interesting is that Donald Trump seems to want to do it because the other couple are holding hands. Trump looks to his right, sees the other couple holding hands and then immediately indicates to Melania to do the same. She seems to initially agree but then suddenly changes her mind. But, it's all about "The Donald". :)

Some positive notes on the Trump Administration. My brother is an adviser to the Atlanta Federal Reserve. He said new job numbers are coming and they look very good. The economy is getting better each month and much better than the Obama Administration. As far as NATO, if you belong to a country club and you fall behind on your dues your suspended or kicked out. NATO countries, with the exception of 5, have been past due for 20+ years. Even Greece is up to date. NATO members have been promising since the G.W. Bush administration to catch up, but they never do .Obama left the US with 20 Trillion in Debt, so America can't afford to pay welfare to NATO. We have our own welfare problems in the states. ON the negative side, the Russian Investigation is a blown up farce being pushed by the Democrats and the media. A Harvard University study last month reported CNN has reported 93% negative news on Trump's Administration. The Russian Fake News will be settled soon and the new investigation will be on the Obama Administration on unmasking intercepted communique on Americans illegally. Obama's Admin actually monitored Trump and associates for a year prior to the election. This is going to be a very serious investigation because the unmasking of Americans actually started before Obama's re-election for a second term. The unmasking laws are up forrenewal in December and they will not be renewed without a complete investigation on what has taken placed. Most Americansdon't care about Russia, all they want is jobs and a better economy. Since the economy and jobs are getting better look for an increase in interest rates very soon. In fact, probably two increases in the following 7 months. Since Trump was elected, the US Stock Market or Dow is up 3000 points or 14%. Americans with retirement accounts are very happy, but you won't hear that from CNN or the other main stream media outlets.

Alfie thanks for those 2 clips. Trump certainly pushes the Montenegro PM back very rudely and then 'puffs himself up' in the middle of the picture. I think the Lady on Trump's left comments and Trump seems to reply and pose again ? Bad boy !With Melania - a moment of stress for sure. How does she put up with him ?

Well said Wizard. Re NATO, I agree with Trump 100%. Germany as Europe's richest Nation pays just 1.2% - shocking. When I saw Merkel's speech portraying the USA as no longer a reliable ally, it made my blood boil. Pay your agreed share Merkel and then you can comment. If this leads to the weakening of NATO now in the face of an increased threat from Putin's Russia, it will be a disaster. But Merkel's Germany and the other delinquent NATO members, will be to blame.

I'm not sure what the Russia stuff is about - I see nothing wrong with a 'hot-line' between Leaders, but if there was collusion with Russia on hacking or interference in the USA Election - that is serious.

So jobs, the economy and Dow Jones is up. That's always good.

DT is a loose cannon for sure but he deserves a fair hearing from the Media. I hope some good comes from the 'treeshake' he brings. ATB

Some positive notes on the Trump Administration. My brother is an adviser to the Atlanta Federal Reserve. He said new job numbers are coming and they look very good. The economy is getting better each month and much better than the Obama Administration

As far as NATO, if you belong to a country club and you fall behind on your dues your suspended or kicked out. NATO countries, with the exception of 5, have been past due for 20+ years. Even Greece is up to date. NATO members have been promising since the G.W. Bush administration to catch up, but they never do .

Wizard, it doesn't work quite like that. There is no membership fee (dues) so nobody is in arrears and nobody (no country) owes anybody else any money. There is only a target to spend 2% of GDP on defence.

Quote

In 2006, NATO allies set a target to spend 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence.

NATO imposes no sanctions or penalties on countries who do not meet the 2% target, and no country has it written into their domestic law that the target must be met, either in a given year or averaged over a number of years.

Measuring fair burden-sharing is more complicated than it seems. At present, Alliance planners use seven metrics to assess the performance of individual nations. These include two defence investment guidelines that often generate headlines, namely for each Ally to spend 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence and to spend 20% of national defence budgets on major equipment and related research and development. These guidelines were confirmed again at the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales, when Allied leaders firmly agreed to halt the decline in defence expenditure and aim to move towards the 2% (and 20%) guidelines within a decade, with a view to meeting their NATO Capability Targets and filling NATO's capability shortfalls.

Obama left the US with 20 Trillion in Debt, so America can't afford to pay welfare to NATO.

As I mentioned above, nobody owes the USA any unpaid "dues" and the USA isn't paying any welfare to NATO. Also, nobody is forcing the USA to spend so much of its money on defence. The NATO target is 2% of GDP, but the USA spends way more than that - an average of 4.295% of GDP over the last eight years. See below.

(http://i.imgur.com/4DR8fKh.jpg)

I would suggest the USA spends less on the military - half of what it has been spending over the last eight years would still meet the NATO target comfortably. I'm sure that half of those USD 5,362,359,000,000 could be spent on more pressing domestic issues.

Alfie. ''There is no membership fee (dues) so nobody is in arrears and nobody (no country) owes anybody else any money. There is only a target to spend 2% of GDP on defence.'' .

So Trump is OTT when he talks about arrears being due. But Trump is 100% correct when he bemoans Germany spending just 1.2% on Defence, 11 years after agreeing to move towards spending 67% more, i.e. 2%.

Italy, Spain, Belgium and others spend more than Germany.

I don't know what USA deployments in Europe are atm, but unless Germany and others respond, they may find that Trump resolves the situation in his own way, by making cuts that are critical to Europe's security. Then EU Nations may need to spend 2%, or more than 2%, to reinforce their own security with the mooted EU army.

So come on Mrs Merkel - time to meet your Country's promise of 2006 and show a good example to errant Spain, Italy, Belgium the Netherlands and so on.

(Thanks Alfie for the factual stuff. I see Greece is spending a higher % than the UK - but I guess that's with neighbouring Turkey in mind!).

Yesterday at Lamphun Immigration for a 90 day, I bumped into a mild mannered American, 'Rick', and he touched briefly on the subject of Trump. Rick was frankly inconsolable about Trump's childishness, his tendency to bully and lack of basic human manners.

One American truly but truly appalled by his President.

I was reflecting again on DT pushing the Montenegro PM aside at the photoshoot.Really that was 5 year old stuff. DT is massively insecure to behave so and that makes him dangerous.

Let's hope some good falls from the treeshake and also, that we don't all get blown up.

His left arm is hidden but it would seem like he is patting Marković on his back in a friendly manner, also because Marković seems to be returning the gesture with his right hand if you look well at 0:05.

Even so, definitely an unnecessarily disgraceful behaviour by a man in his position, even if done without real aggressiveness (Freud would carp on this point). How to keep anti-Americanism high everywhere...

^ More like it's Trump meddling in stuff he has little knowledge of and opening his big mouth (or tweeting) with little or no care for the consequences of his ignorance and meddling until it's too late.

Last night's Swiss newscast in French, re-broadcast this morning on TV5 Monde, included a short interview (http://www.rts.ch/play/tv/19h30/video/le-gouverneur-de-virginie-terry-mcauliffe-sur-notre-plateau?id=8737986) to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_McAuliffe): "one of USA's most influential political figures" as described by the anchor man. McAuliffe answers in English but an interpreter covers his voice. Highlights from McAuliffe's answers:

- Trump has undermined and is undermining USA prestige around the world (at around 01:00 and at around 03:20 of the video)

- Trump's tweets are an embarrassment to the whole country (at around 02:20)

- Trump will have no voice on climate issues: we will act as Governors to comply with the Paris treaty (at around 03:30)

And not just DT - I could scarcely believe my eyes reading the words of President Trump's new top appointment - Anthony Scaramucci. With due deference to the USA - it seems Scaramucci has started this important role in the mode of an unbridled 'Moron'.

An interesting development if what is reported in this article is true.

9 August 2017

There was no hack of the Democratic National Committee’s system on July 5 last year—not by the Russians, not by anyone else. Hard science now demonstrates it was a leak—a download executed locally with a memory key or a similarly portable data-storage device. In short, it was an inside job by someone with access to the DNC’s system. This casts serious doubt on the initial “hack,” as alleged, that led to the very consequential publication of a large store of documents on WikiLeaks last summer.

And from the same article. It's all interesting stuff but I have highlighted in red what I, IMHO, think is the most concerning.

It is now a year since the Democratic National Committee’s mail system was compromised—a year since events in the spring and early summer of 2016 were identified as remote hacks and, in short order, attributed to Russians acting in behalf of Donald Trump. A great edifice has been erected during this time. President Trump, members of his family, and numerous people around him stand accused of various corruptions and extensive collusion with Russians. Half a dozen simultaneous investigations proceed into these matters. Last week news broke that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had convened a grand jury, which issued its first subpoenas on August 3. Allegations of treason are common; prominent political figures and many media cultivate a case for impeachment.

The president’s ability to conduct foreign policy, notably but not only with regard to Russia, is now crippled. Forced into a corner and having no choice, Trump just signed legislation imposing severe new sanctions on Russia and European companies working with it on pipeline projects vital to Russia’s energy sector. Striking this close to the core of another nation’s economy is customarily considered an act of war, we must not forget. In retaliation, Moscow has announced that the United States must cut its embassy staff by roughly two-thirds. All sides agree that relations between the United States and Russia are now as fragile as they were during some of the Cold War’s worst moments. To suggest that military conflict between two nuclear powers inches ever closer can no longer be dismissed as hyperbole.

All this was set in motion when the DNC’s mail server was first violated in the spring of 2016 and by subsequent assertions that Russians were behind that “hack” and another such operation, also described as a Russian hack, on July 5. These are the foundation stones of the edifice just outlined. The evolution of public discourse in the year since is worthy of scholarly study: Possibilities became allegations, and these became probabilities. Then the probabilities turned into certainties, and these evolved into what are now taken to be established truths. By my reckoning, it required a few days to a few weeks to advance from each of these stages to the next. This was accomplished via the indefensibly corrupt manipulations of language repeated incessantly in our leading media.

Lost in a year that often appeared to veer into our peculiarly American kind of hysteria is the absence of any credible evidence of what happened last year and who was responsible for it. It is tiresome to note, but none has been made available. Instead, we are urged to accept the word of institutions and senior officials with long records of deception. These officials profess “high confidence” in their “assessment” as to what happened in the spring and summer of last year—this standing as their authoritative judgment. Few have noticed since these evasive terms first appeared that an assessment is an opinion, nothing more, and to express high confidence is an upside-down way of admitting the absence of certain knowledge. This is how officials avoid putting their names on the assertions we are so strongly urged to accept—as the record shows many of them have done.

Quote Alfie - ''Is Trump simply trying to distract everyone from his domestic (US) problems?'' Just MO but I don't think so myself. Maybe it's a case of 'one thought at a time' with Mr Trump ?

From the DailyT today - ''''The Venezuelan government has warned it will defend itself against any intervention by the "extremist" United States after President Donald Trump raised the prospect of a "military option" in the chaos-ridden South American oil state. Mr Trump told reporters on Friday that the use of force "was certainly something we could pursue" in Venezuela, which he described as a "dangerous mess". "The people are suffering and they are dying. We have many options for Venezuela including a possible military option if necessary," Mr Trump said.''''

"We have many options for Venezuela including a possible military option if necessary," Mr Trump said.

Trump has a military fetish: he attending a private military school, wanted a military parade for his inauguration and has surrounded himself with retired Generals who he refers to as 'my generals' and wanted to dress in their uniforms at work (which all but one cannot do). How long before he issues an edict that they can and must wear a uniform, and also that he, as Commander-in-Chief, should also wear a uniform? And how long before the records regarding the numerous deferments are sanitised to make him seem like a willing hero somehow obstructed by the system?

Where else in the world is the wearing of military uniform by non-military people such a feature of life? Oh, wait.......

For the President of Iran he is a "rogue newcomer to the world of politics" whose debut speech at UN General Assembly consisted of "ignorant, absurd and hateful rhetoric filled with ridiculously baseless allegations" (source (http://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/irans-hassan-rouhani-blasts-donald-trump-as-rogue-newcomer)).

Moreover, Rouhani is now expecting official apologies from Trump: "Mr. Trump was offensive to Iran, and we are waiting for Mr. Trump to apologize to the people of Iran" (source (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iranian-president-rips-into-trump-as-a-rogue-newcomer-to-world-politics/2017/09/20/687d12e3-1b97-4b40-a22c-220f9ee22f16_story.html?utm_term=.3bcbb63a76a8)).

He managed to come at odds also with many NFL and NBL players and coaches. Steve Kerr, coach of current NBA champions Golden State Warriors, commented like this about Trump's decision to revoke an invitation for his team to visit the White House:

I think in general the idea of going to the White House as part of a championship team is awesome. It's an incredible honor, you honor the office, you honor the institution. I can speak from personal experience, it doesn't matter, you set aside political differences. I've had the pleasure to meet with Reagan, George Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, I didn't necessarily agree with all of them, but it was an incredible honor to be in their presence.

There was a respect for the office, and also respect not only from us, but from the President himself, and that goes both ways. I think we would in normal times very easily be able to set aside political differences and go visit and have a great time, and be awesome. These are not ordinary times. Probably the most divisive times in my life, I guess since Vietnam but I was just a kid and I don't remember too much about Vietnam.

Because of the differences that exist in the country, the President made it really, really difficult for us to honor that institution. Our differences in terms of our team and organization's values, are so dramatically different, talking in terms of inclusion, civil discourse, dignity, it's hard for us every day seeing the things he's saying.

I thought yesterday, his comments about the NFL players are as bad as anything he's said to this point. That's awful, you're talking about young men who are peacefully protesting police brutality and racism, racial inequality. Peacefully protesting! Hallmarks of our country. Come on, it's just been very difficult for us to have to reconcile with that. (source) (http://www.complex.com/sports/2017/09/steve-kerr-donald-trump-white-house-invitation)

''The UN security council has unanimously approved tough new sanctions on North Korea''.

The restriction on oil imports has been increased to 90% and ships found with unauthorised cargo in transit can be impounded. China voted in favour. It's a range of tightened sanctions. Conditions in N. Korea, already dreadful, will become much worse.

Pres. Trump is a loose cannon, no doubt. But is he making progress at last ? Or will it trigger Military action by N. Korea ?

The US mission said a cutoff on new work permits would eventually cost North Korea about $500m a year once current work permits expire. The US estimated about 93,000 North Koreans are working abroad, a US official said.

The resolution approved Friday expresses concern that the foreign earnings from these workers are being used to support the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. It requires all countries to send North Korean workers and safety monitors home by the end of 2019.

93,000 more unemployed people, thousands more starving people. Trump doesn't care about humanity at all (IMHO).

Alfie of course the downsides are regrettable but measured against the carnage of a WW3 ? What happens if Kim Jong Un fires off one of these ICBM's ? I hate to be impressed by Trump at all but he has to his credit, got the Chinese onside for this action.

Hopefully a change in N.Korea or some agreement about the nuclear weapons can be achieved under this sort of pressure - in time for the 93,000 to keep their jobs ! ;)

Sorry, but I disagree with you, Roger. It’s Trump who is close to starting a war, not the north Koraeans. I fear you have bought into the Trump BS. Trump has said that past diplomacy and talking (in the last 25 years) has not worked. I disagree. We were never this close to war before. Diplomacy and talking kept war at bay. Trump has upped the ante and riled the north Koreans. They feel threatened by the Trump regime. They are developing missiles to counter Trump. Trump is to blame for the current situation. Nobody else.

Trump hasn't been President for 12 months yet. The N.Koreans were along this path well before he was elected. I contend it's a different situation now than over the last 25 years - N.Korea has nuclear bombs and the ability to deliver them - maybe already or otherwise soon.

Without buying into the BS, getting China to support sanctions of this severity is a major change. Let's hope there can be talks. ATB

Trump hasn't been President for 12 months yet. The N.Koreans were along this path well before he was elected. I contend it's a different situation now than over the last 25 years - N.Korea has nuclear bombs and the ability to deliver them - maybe already or otherwise soon.

Either they have or they haven't. Your post indicates you are not sure about it, i.e., you don't know. So what is really different? Trump. He has caused the present situation. He is giving the North Koreans a reason to develop (or justify developing) a deterrent from American aggression. The Americans have nuclear weapons and have recently hinted at using them against North Korea. It's only right that the North Koreans develop weapons to counter that American threat.

Alfie, of course no-one can be totally sure if N.Korea have the ability right now, to accurately deliver the nuclear bombs that they undoubtedly possess. But all the comment and intelligence seems to agree that N.Korea are close. Even China is sufficiently alarmed by the development to vote with the USA on these sanctions.

I believe you are completely wrong when you post of Trump, ''he is giving the North Koreans a reason to develop weapons''. N.Korea has been working on this for a decade or more - Trump has been there for under a year.

In 2003, North Korea again announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.

In 2005, it admitted to having nuclear weapons but vowed to close the nuclear program.

On October 9, 2006, North Korea announced it had successfully conducted its first nuclear test. In April 2009, reports surfaced that North Korea has become a "fully fledged nuclear power"

On February 11, 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey detected a magnitude 5.1 seismic disturbance, reported to be a third underground nuclear test

On January 6, 2016 in Korea, the United States Geological Survey detected a magnitude 5.1 seismic disturbance, reported to be a fourth underground nuclear test

In 2017, North Korea test-launched two ICBMs, the second of which had sufficient range to reach the continental United States. In September 2017 the country announced a further "perfect" hydrogen bomb test.''

The new US ambassador to the Netherlands has been caught out on Dutch television after a journalist quizzed him about comments he had made about Islamic extremism in the country.

Pete Hoekstra denied he had ever said there were "no-go zones" in the Netherlands, calling it "fake news".

But the Dutch journalist showed him a clip of the comments from 2015.

The Trump appointee then appeared to deny the "fake news" term he had used earlier in the interview.

The exchange left Wouter Zwart, US correspondent for Dutch broadcaster NOS, visibly confused in the short clip that has been widely shared on social media.

The exchange:Zwart: Speaking of threat, at one point you mentioned in a debate that there are no-go zones in the Netherlands and that cars and politicians are being set on fire.

Mr Hoekstra: I didn't say that. That is actually an incorrect statement. Yeah, we would call it fake news.

Zwart: Is that fake news? Because that's what you really said.

Mr Hoekstra: No, it's not what I said.

Mr Hoekstra (on archive video): The Islamic movement has now got to the point where they have put Europe into chaos. Chaos in the Netherlands, there are cars being burned, there are politicians that are being burned. And yes, there are no-go zones in the Netherlands.

Zwart: You called it fake news, obviously... (is interrupted)

Mr Hoekstra: I didn't call that fake news, I didn't use the words today.

Zwart: No?

Mr Hoekstra: No. I don't think I did.

The former Republican congressman was sworn in by Vice-President Mike Pence on 11 December after being nominated earlier this year by President Donald Trump.

Alfie - ''And all done quite peacefully. Let them get on with it. Leave them alone.''

Ah ! So N.Korea didn't go 'nuclear' because of Trump. You don't seem to be against nuclear proliferation ? I'm not defending Trump generally. Just MO - he has done well to get China onside against N. Korea. That's all.

In general terms, I'd be happy to see the world rid of all nuclear weapons, but it will never happen. On nuclear proliferation, I'm not against it in principle and I think the current system is wrong. It's arrogant, hypocritical and chauvanistic. It says that the current nuclear powers can have them and have plenty of them but other countries can't have them or try to develop them. I rememebr in the early 1990s when India and Pakistan were developing them. There was plenty of condemnation and threats from the usual suspects but then India and Pakistan went nuclear and eventually it all became "OK" with the USA now having a deal with India. And then there's Israel. Not a word of condemnation from the US (or UK?) about Israel's nuclear weapons. So it's not all about the weapons. It's about who has them. If you are friends and allies with the USA/UK/France, you can do as you please. So, tear up the non-proliferation treaty. it's voluntary anyway, but once in it, they (usual suspects) will harass you (like they are with North Korea) if you decide to withdraw from it. Scap it.

You posted - ''They are developing missiles to counter Trump''. I replied - ''Trump hasn't been President for 12 months yet. The N.Koreans were along this path well before he was elected''.

You posted earlier on the 'Survival' thread - ''I'm sure China will be using diplomacy to try to improve the situation but "massive pressure"? I doubt it. Why would they? The USA should try diplomacy. It's not new and it's not so difficult. Even they can do it. They might even succeed.''

Happily N.Korea is now under ''massive pressure'' because of the new UN sanction cutting 90% of previous oil imports. Surely Pres. Trump's USA have used diplomacy and succeeded, for now. Is that not what you asked for ?

One way of looking at it, from the DT today . . . .Good things and bad falling from President Trump's 'tree shake' ?

Think Donald Trump is floundering? Think again – he is on a roll - Rob Crilly

''He was the candidate who didn’t know how to campaign, the runner who couldn’t win. Then he became the president who didn’t know how to govern, who was not supposed to see out 2017 without being impeached. At every step of this improbable presidency Donald Trump was supposed to flame out, crash back to earth under the weight of prosecution, Congressional defeat and historically bad approval ratings. As 2018 begins to unfold, this president’s record is already looking rather different.

You might not like him, his manner or the things that he has done, but to say that he is failing is to deliberately ignore the record of the past 12 months. The year ended on a high with the tax bill, delivered with almost unanimous Republican backing and delivering a bigger corporate tax cut than either of the Bushes managed. He has made the most of the executive powers he wields, scything down or limiting more than 1500 regulations on the environment, health care, financial services – and with them much of the legacy of Barack Obama.

Mr Trump was unable to overturn Obamacare, of course, but provisions in the tax bill end the individual mandate, the requirement that everyone had to sign up for health insurance and one of the elements most despised by conservatives.

He can even claim to have won a war. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant will never disappear as long as its ideology can spread across the internet, but its physical caliphate been comprehensively rolled up in Iraq and Syria. The doom-mongers’ predictions that this administration’s foreign policy would spark fresh conflict have so far not come true, even if it sometimes feels as if we are only ever a tweet away from the apocalypse.

All the while Mr Trump has been tilting the courts to the Right. As well as appointing Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court – one of the actions most celebrated by conservatives – he has been quietly stocking the appeals courts and circuit. In fact, The New York Times says the eight appellate judges is the most appointed this early in a presidency since Richard Nixon, and the dozen circuit court judges is the most appointed during a president’s first year in more than a century. Even the travel ban – which had been battered and burned in the courts – won a partial reprieve at the Supreme Court.

Friday’s jobs figures brought news of the 87th consecutive month of growth in employment a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke above the 25,000 mark for the first time. And the famous wall is moving ahead. Who knows whether it will ever be built; and it seems clear that Mexico will not be paying for it. But eight prototypes now stand proudly in the California desert near the border.

It took some time for the Trump presidency to get moving but these are significant wins. As the more reliable of commentators have said all along, watch not what Mr Trump says and tweets but what he does. This list of accomplishments is a reminder of what he was elected to do. They are real, consequential and popular with his supporters. This has implications for his opponents, who still believe they need do nothing more than be ready for when Mr Trump fails under the weight of his own bluster.

For the time being he still has Congress and the majority of governors across the nation as goes about reshaping the country in his own image. Look beyond the Russia investigation, Twitter spats and boorish behaviour. Ignore the impeachment clamour and the mix of studied ignorance and political naivety laid bare in Michael Wolff’s new book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” and this is still a president with real power and one who has now gained momentum.''

The Guardian : ''Donald Trump has been branded a shocking and shameful racist after it was credibly reported he had described African nations, as well as Haiti and El Salvador as “shitholes” and questioned why so many of their citizens had ever been permitted to enter America.''

Moving on, whilst Ivanka Trump networks with N.Korea's second worst war hooligan at the Winter Olympics, husband Jared has problems with the Russia Inquiry and his own security clearance :-

''Jared Kushner has access to top secret intelligence withdrawn – One reason that Kushner has been unable to obtain clearance has been his extensive contacts with foreign officials, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed government officials. The report said that officials in four foreign countries – the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico – have discussed ways to manipulate Kushner based on his business debts and inexperience''.

I saw somewhere that Pres. Trump is apparently frightened of 'stairs' for some reason. Notwithstanding :-

'''I'd run in even if I didn't have a weapon', says Trump about Florida shooting.

Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of an armed sheriff’s deputy who failed to enter a high school in Parkland, Florida, during a mass shooting this month, saying he would have run into the building even if he did not possess a weapon. Addressing a gathering of 39 state governors at the White House, Trump said officers who were outside the school at the time of the shooting “weren’t exactly medal of honor winners”.

“The way they performed was really a disgrace,” he added. “I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon.”''

Prior to her appointment as CIA deputy director, Haspel controversially ran a secret CIA prison in Thailand used to house, question, and allegedly torture detainees during the second Bush administration’s War on Terror.

Haspel’s tenure as “Chief of Base” at the prison–and what she did while serving in that role–is the subject of the arrest warrant request.

i was talking to donald trump today,, he told me,prior to his coronation, he would like nigel farage to become an american national,, so he could elect him to vice president of the U.S.A. ha ha ha LOL E.F.M.

''US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has fired FBI official Andrew McCabe, who has frequently been accused of political bias by President Trump. In January Mr McCabe stepped down from his position as deputy director. He had been deeply involved in the FBI investigations into Hillary Clinton's use of email and Russia's alleged meddling in the presidential campaign.

The sacking comes two days before his 50th birthday, when he was expected to retire with pension rights. President Trump welcomed Mr Sessions' decision in a tweet.''

No. 22 and 23 ? ??? It's been obvious for some time that Pres. Trump will in effect be a ''solo act'. It seems that NO dissenting views or even different nuance will be accepted inside his Administration. Just MO but it seems a very dangerous state of affairs. I guess we have to hope that Trump is right about everything and then we'll be OK ;)

''Donald Trump has ousted HR McMaster as his national security adviser and will appoint hardliner John Bolton in his place, it emerged on Thursday. The US president announced the news in a tweet, with the change set to take place on April 9. The move comes despite repeated rebuttals from the White House that Mr McMaster would be removed from office. It also continues a tumultuous period that has seen a string of major staff departures from the White House and the cabinet. Mr McMaster, who had never met Mr Trump before being interviewed for the role, clashed with the president over the Iran nuclear deal and Afghanistan policy.

Mr Bolton, who served as George W Bush's UN ambassador, is known for his hawkish foreign policy views that are more in line with Mr Trump's stances. Last month he wrote a an article headlined “The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First". He reportedly held talks with Mr Trump on Thursday.

Mr Trump tweeted: "I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend." Mr McMaster is expected to retire rather than be fired, with reports that the pair had been discussing his departure for weeks.

In the last month Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State, Gary Cohen, Mr Trump's top economics adviser, and Hope Hicks, his communications director, have all left the administration. The changes have raised claims that Mr Trump is getting rid of 'no men' and putting people more in line with his policy preferences in place instead. It was the second staff change to emerge on Thursday after John Dowd, Mr Trump's lawyer, quit amid reports he feared the president was no longer following his advice.

The New York Times reported that Mr Trump wants his new top foreign policy advisers in place before his face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader. Mr Bolton's appointment, taken together with Mr Tillerson's replacement with Trump ally Mike Pompeo, the CIA head, hints at a change in foreign policy approach.

Mr Trump has called for the Iran nuclear deal to be torn up - something over which Mr McMaster and Mr Tillerson urged caution on behind the scenes. Mr Bolton has been a vocal critics of the deal, writing a piece last October headlined: "Mr. President, don't put America at risk with flawed Iran deal." The appointment also marks a return to the frontline of politics for Mr Bolton, 69, who served as Mr Bush's representative at the UN from 2005 to 2006.''

''The phoney trade war of the last year is over. President Donald Trump has dropped a dangerously real cluster bomb on China. “The first of many,” he growled with defiant satisfaction as he signed off on the most dramatic trade sanctions since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.

The dispute centres as much on who will control the technology life-blood of the 21st century as it does on China’s $375bn (£265bn) trade surplus with the US – almost half of America's $800bn trade gap and patently "out of control" in Mr Trump's words. He says it must be reduced by $100bn immediately.

What makes this so menacing is that the world’s two dominant superpowers are in a state of escalating hostility over both trade and the bigger issue of dominance in Asia, a toxic geo-strategic cocktail. President Trump’s sweeping penalties on $60bn of Chinese hi-tech and manufacturing imports are unprecedented in modern times. The White House has dusted off a Cold War instrument under US law allowing it to take “all protective action”, the nuclear option in trade policy. “The word that I want to use is reciprocal. If they charge us, we charge them the same thing,” said Mr Trump, complaining that China imposes 25pc tariffs on US car imports while the US charges 2.5pc on Chinese cars. “It is not fair and those days are over.”

The White House said months of investigation and a review of 10,000 cases had confirmed a systematic pattern of “forced technology transfer” and “cyber theft” by the Chinese regime, a policy it described as "economic aggression". The sanctions target 1300 products. They hone in on aerospace, robotics, electric vehicles and biopharma, tracking the ten strategic sectors announced by the Communist Party in its “Made in China 2025” technology plan. The previous tariffs on solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminium are almost trivial by comparison.

The move comes against a poisonous diplomatic background. The Trump Administration openly talks of China as a predatory regime that uses national champions to subvert the world trading system. The latest US National Security Strategy Report has for the first time named China as a strategic rival that seeks to “challenge American power, influence and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity.”

The US has tolerated big trade deficits over the years with Germany, Japan, and Korea – up to a point – because they are close military allies. China is deemed an adversary. US and Chinese naval vessels are in latent conflict over free navigation in the South China Sea. The early signs are that China will react with caution, playing the long game. “There will be no lashing out. They will go for the high ground and present themselves as the new defenders of global free trade,” said Geoffrey Yu, a strategist at UBS with close ties to the Chinese leadership.

“They may throw open markets to other countries like Canada, or to the EU, and perhaps Britain will be first in line now that it will be able to negotiate trade deals,” he said. The EU has complicated this strategy by seeming to gang with Mr Trump against China in the steel dispute. China’s veiled threats of “asymmetric warfare” against the US bond market have been dropped. Officials at the Chinese central bank have patiently explained that any move by Beijing to dump its $1.17 trillion holding of US Treasuries and notes would backfire, devaluing China’s residual holdings and risking an Asian-wide credit shock.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has to craft an artful strategy to deal with a US president who almost seems to want a tit-for-tat spiral of escalating retaliation, convinced that surplus states have the most to lose in a full-blown trade war – a truism as far as it goes. Mr Trump concluded long ago that the entire structure of global commerce is hostile to the US national interest, and has no compunction about bringing the edifice crashing down if that is what it takes. “He won’t back down. He’s like a dog with a bone,” said former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Global Times, voice of hardline nationalists within the Communist Party, has called for counter-sanctions on US soya beans and agricultural products to hit Mr Trump’s electoral base in the farm states. This is a blunt tool in a fungible global commodity markets. Surgical measures against John Deere tractors or Boeing aircraft would be more effective. Mark Williams from Capital Economics said China has an arsenal at it disposal if it so chooses. It can use stringent regulatory, phytosanitary, or compliance checks to paralyse companies operating in China. It can instruct Chinese firms to cancel orders. It can orchestrate consumer boycotts as it did to Japan over the Senkaku islands dispute.

If the US then responded with tariffs across the board, it would in effect be imposing a tax on its own consumers. The three biggest US imports from China are mobile telephones, laptops, and network equipment. In each case China is the dominant global supplier with around 70pc of the world market. Alternative sources are scarce.

Yet so far, China is holding back. Although plans emerged this evening for reciprocal tariffs against the US, it does appear, on the whole, to be pursuing a softly-softly policy despite the insults from Washington and is trying to calm its own hotheads. Premier Li Keqiang vowed this week to keep cutting import tariffs and to throw open China’s economy. “I hope both China and the US will act rationally, and not be led by emotions,” he said. “China’s aim is to ensure that both domestic and foreign firms will be able to compete on fair terms in China’s large market. We will open up the manufacturing sector, with no mandatory technology transfers required,” he said.

The Communist leadership has over-promised before, and its claim to be the white knight of the open trading system must be taken with a fistful of salt. China has for decades pursued a mercantilist export strategy to conquer foreign markets, backing its champions with subsidised credit and energy. Foreign companies operating in China have been obstructed. It runs a command system with Communist Party officials lodged inside private companies. Foreign investment is systematically used to acquire technology secrets. The country has in the past run a "dirty" currency peg, suppressing the yuan to gain competitiveness.

Yet China is changing. Currency manipulation has been abandoned. China’s current account surplus with the US has dropped from 6pc to 2pc of Chinese GDP over the last decade. The country is switching from a catch-up model of industrial-led growth to a more mature service economy that is closer to trade balance. China is no longer the world’s chief trade violator. It has been displaced by the eurozone. Edward Alden from the Council on Foreign Relations said we have reached a perilous moment. China is seething with fury over America’s new national security doctrine, and over Washington's equivocation on Taiwan and the "One China" policy.

“The new tariffs are a high-stakes gamble that economic shock and awe can succeed where negotiations have failed. There is a serious danger that events could spiral out of control,” he said.''

President Trump in trouble again ;) In the link below, at 2mins 45secs - days before the 2016 election, it's alleged that Trump's personal attorney paid Daniels $130,000 !!

Apparently Daniels performed well in a lie detector test - unless this payment came from campaign funds, it's just a problem for Trump and Melania.

I wondered why Daniels has broken the non-disclosure, but now see in the Guardian, ''Her team claims the agreement is null and void because Trump never signed it''. MMMMmmm but she took the money . . .

(CNN)''A primetime dish by Stormy Daniels about her alleged affair with Donald Trump is a reminder that there are some things even a president can't control. The "60 Minutes" interview Sunday slammed into the White House just at the moment that Trump is acting to stamp his dominance on his administration and wider political story by removing officials who tried to tame him. But the porn actress' decision to break her silence on their alleged relationship ensures that the President -- however he might try to change the subject -- will face more questions about his behavior and personal morality.

The second television interview of a female Trump accuser in three days makes it clear that even if he does not sustain immediate political damage, he faces months of litigation and public relations blows from motivated opponents.''

''Comey cannot disguise his loathing for the man, and the portrait he paints could not be uglier. He has Trump speaking in monologue, leaving no space for anyone else to say a word, a silence the new president takes as assent and complicity.''

''He offers some fascinating observations on presidential humour. Bush could crack a joke, but it was usually at someone else’s expense. Obama laughed easily and never once used humour as a putdown. Trump, meanwhile, never laughs, not even once: to do so would require acknowledging the existence, and successful conversational play, of another person.''

President Donald Trump is being mooted for the 'Nobel Prize for Peace'. There's a twist ::) But who would want to follow Aung San Suu Kyi ?

''The Nobel Committee has something of a fetish for awarding the Peace Prize to centre-Left American politicians, regardless of merit. At least former president Jimmy Carter had involved himself in decades of peace initiatives, however futile most proved to be, when he received the prize in 2002. Former Vice President Al Gore, on the other hand, won the 2005 prize for his celebrity endorsement of climate-change doom-mongering.

In Barack Obama’s case in 2009, the rationale was weaker still: he had not even been in office a year and had achieved virtually nothing for the cause of peace during that time. But he was a symbol of hope to centre-Left types around the world, who could not yet imagine the anarchy he would bring to Libya or the ceaseless wars he would wage with drones.

This year’s prize should go to an American leader who for once has earned it: Donald Trump. But will the Nobel Committee free itself from its ideological straitjacket to give it to him? President Trump is everything that Obama was not. He is a man of the Right rather than the Left. He is brash and intensely disliked by much of world opinion, especially elite opinion. Obama had a soft touch and was loved almost as greatly as Trump is despised. Yet the only thing that should matter is what Trump has achieved, in contrast to what Obama did not.''

IF Trump can sort out Korea, Iran (and Myanmar) - I'd agree - give him a Nobel or two.

''Stormy weather, there's no sun up in the sky, Stormy weather, since my Gal and I ain't together, Keeps rainin' all the time.'' ::)

As the World does a 'group shudder' about what President 'Stormy' Trump does next re. the Iran nuclear agreement, the appointment of Rudy Giuliani two weeks ago, his latest masterstroke, seems to have hit the rocks already. Oh to be a 'fly on the wall' when those two next meet !

''Two weeks ago, President Trump finally found a new attorney to lead the understaffed team handling his response to the Russia probe: his old friend Rudy Giuliani. Through public statements, apparent leaks, and the exit of White House lawyer Ty Cobb (who advocated for cooperation with Robert Mueller), the former New York mayor signaled that he was cleaning up Trump’s legal team. From now on, they would be a unified force making aggressive, carefully calculated moves to undermine the special counsel.

Then in his very first TV interview as Trump’s attorney, with Trump shadow adviser Sean Hannity no less, Giuliani contradicted the president’s stories on potential obstruction of justice, the Stormy Daniels affair, and even his relationship with fixer Michael Cohen.''

''A 2015 doctor’s note describing Donald Trump’s health as “astonishingly excellent” was dictated by Trump himself, according to the doctor who signed the note. Trump made public the letter from Dr Harold Bornstein on the eve of the presidential primary contests to allay concerns about his fitness. Two days before the letter was released, Trump tweeted: “As a presidential candidate, I have instructed my long-time doctor to issue, within two weeks, a full medical report – it will show perfection.” The letter said Trump had shed 15lbs in the previous 12 months, said “his cardiovascular status is excellent” and concluded: “If elected, Mr Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”''

I saw Donald Tusk say this on TV and was 'taken aback' ::) On climate change, trade (steel) and the Iran nuclear deal - Europe including the UK and the USA, are standing apart.

How long before Trump brings havoc to our NATO defences ? :-\

''The threat posed by Donald Trump’s administration has been likened to that of China and Russia by Donald Tusk as he condemned the US’s withdrawal from the Iran deal and threat of a transatlantic trade war. At the start of an EU summit in Bulgaria, the European council president offered a withering condemnation of Trump’s White House. He said: “We are witnessing today a new phenomenon: the capricious assertiveness of the American administration. Looking at the latest decisions of President Trump, some could even think, ‘With friends like that, who needs enemies?’”

Trump’s decision to walk away from the nuclear deal with Iran – to which the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China are co-signatories – is being linked by the EU with the US administration’s refusal to exempt the bloc from steel and aluminium tariffs. It was clear, Tusk suggested, that Washington could no longer be relied upon.''

And : ''But, frankly speaking, Europe should be grateful by President Trump, because thanks to him we have got rid of old illusions. He has made us realise that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm.''

As a non gambler, I find it hard to forecast the future. But this is my take on this:

- the UK will call another referendum over withdrawal. The result will be 'remain'. The EU will celebrate.- with work done, and no routemap, the result of a UK 'stay' will throw the future of the Commonwealth into doubt UNLESS the UK negotiates a clever option that allows it to be a conduit for Commonwealth goods and services to allow Commonwealth countries access to EU markets. At a national level, most EU countries want to foster the Commonwealth as an important trading block, and France looks to this development as a model for future relations with its former colonies.- the consequence of the Brexit process is the transfer of power from Brussels to the 'core three' powers in the EU (Germany, France, UK) who will dismantle the federal structure in Brussels and replace with a pragmatic, economically focused directorate. Brexit will turn out to be a clever ploy to neuter a federalist EU.

As we leave the EU, (?) we also lack the unencumbered support of our other special partner, the USA . . .

''Donald Trump has grown frustrated with Theresa May’s “school mistress” tone, allies of the president have told The Telegraph, as it emerged the pair will not hold formal talks at the G7 summit in Canada. The US president is said to bristle at the Prime Minister’s approach during phone calls, with Mrs May quick to get into policy details rather than wider conversation.

One senior US diplomat said Mr Trump had expressed annoyance at Mrs May’s frequent demands, which are seen as taking advantage of the UK-US relationship.''

''It was always slated to be a tense and awkward G7 summit and an Instagram post from the official account of German Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to have captured one of those moments.'' A great pic !

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44426442

Trump IS a serious problem in World affairs, but the Guy is pure entertainment too ! In that pic he is seen arms folded, not giving give a damn what the others think ???

On trade imbalance - IMO he has a point. Why should the USA keep borrowing to pay for imports to keep other Countries happy ? But Trump doesn't need to bring the whole house down to improve the situation - on steel and aluminuim, why not impose tariffs on China but limit imports from EU to current levels ?

Surely the USA's main focus should be China, China and China with maybe, Germany re. auto imports ?

It was more concerning to see Trump actively pushing for Russia to rejoin and a restoration of the G8. The truth of the dossier and the existence of compromising material seems more certain every time Trump needlessly cheerleads for Putin. And the mystery disappearance of Melania for a month suggests all is not well 'behind the scenes'.

'How to make Friends and influence people'' - Donald Trump's version ;) from CNN. And 'that' picture again - Merkel and Co standing over DT feeling they'd like to punch him no doubt ::) Theresa May is there too - standing tall near left, (CK the second quote here backs up your concern about DT and Putin).

''Trump reversed his decision to sign a closing communiqué carefully crafted by his six fellow members, tweeting from Air Force One, "I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!"''

And ''The question, which must remain unanswered, is whether this weekend has left America a step closer to embracing or professing preference for autocracy itself. Certainly, with Trump leaving an empty chair Saturday afternoon as the G-7 discussed climate change, sustainable energy and renewable fuels, America has abdicated its onetime leadership position on these critical issues.''

President Trump is still trying to write these matters off as a ''witch hunt''. It looks more like a bag of Trump made worms to me ??? In this news clip, suggestions that on the 'Cohen' front, Trump may yet be subjected to more pressure by new admissions from Cohen :-

Watched John Oliver last night (his show is on HBO - Last Week Tonight). Always both fascinating and scary. The week, amongst other subjects, he looked at Trump and trade and showed how little Trump knows or understands about international trade. It is funny, shocking and frankly terrifying.

Perhaps the scariest part is who Trump has appointed as his advisor on trade: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Navarro (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Navarro). Navarro is a swivel-eyed loon shunned by mainstream economists. Worse still, he was hired because Jared Kushner did a hunt on Amazon (the irony) and found his book. As simple as that.

There was a time that I would never conceive that a US president would initiate an actual war simply to protect their position domestically. Not any more; the possibility is now significant.

''Donald Trump’s presidency, it has been widely observed, bends the laws of time. Scandals that would have dogged other presidents for years tend to be here today, gone tomorrow. Fifteen minutes of fame is now likely to count for no more than 15 seconds.

At around 4.30pm, in courtrooms 200 miles apart, a pair of Trump associates delivered a one-two punch – and that was just Tuesday. . . But the day from hell was far from done. The Republican congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife were indicted on corruption charges, namely converting more than $250,000 in campaign money to pay for personal expenses, including dental work, fast food, golf outings and holidays and trips for their family and nearly a dozen relatives.

In 2016, Hunter was the second member of Congress to endorse Trump for president. Earlier this month the first, Chris Collins of New York was indicted for insider trading. The third? Jeff Sessions, now Trump’s out-of-favour attorney general.''

Donald Trump and his driver were cruising along a country road one evening when a pig ran in front of the car. The driver tried to avoid it but couldn’t. The pig was killed.The President told his driver to go up to the farmhouse and explain to the owners what happened.About an hour later the driver staggers back to the car with his clothes in total disarray. He was holding a bottle of wine in one hand, a cigar in the other and smiling happily.“What happened?” asked the President.“Well,” the driver replied “the Farmer gave me the wine, his wife gave me the cigar, and their beautiful daughter made mad passionate love to me.”“My God, what did you tell them?” asked Trump.

The driver replied: “I’m Donald Trump’s driver, and I just killed the pig.........

The sad part of all this is that the UK is fading into the background. Macron has propelled France well ahead of the UK. The UK is in danger of 'blending into the background', akin to Spain and Italy (remember Italy? One of the world's best design and engineering countries). Where is Trump regarding the killing of British citizens by (clearly) Russian operatives, even if in error? Silent. He is off on a Chinese odyssey which will just drive China and Russia closer. Merkel is in jeopardy.

CK I don't know how you measure this one - ''Macron has propelled France well ahead of the UK''. Not sure that's true although Macron does take a high profile on every front but his support at home is weak ;)

I don't see the UK blending into the background as you say but IMO it is a good thing for the UK to concentrate on matters at home rather than pursue so many foreign adventures.

Trump's USA have supported the UK in the Skripal incident, adding sanctions and with many expulsions. The USA has been more supportive than say, Germany ?

President Trump today intimates that he may take the higher moral ground ::) by withdrawing his support if those testifying against Kavanaugh look convincing - that's an odd one in the circumstances :D

Is the Trump 'treeshake' doing good in any respect ?

IMO Trump is right to demand fair contributions to NATO and in tackling the USA foreign trade deficit and China with sanctions.

An interesting lead in the DT today and worth a read if you have the time and inclination. Kavanaugh looks like a highly dubious character to me even now but the following story - looks very murky indeed. It's a shame we don't have a red blooded USA person on here to put another view.

''Twenty-three years ago I crossed swords with a younger Brett Kavanaugh in one of the weirdest and most disturbing episodes of my career as a journalist. What happened leaves me in no doubt that he lacks judicial character and is unfit to serve on the US Supreme Court for the next thirty years or more, whatever his political ideology. He was not a teenager. It related to his duties in the mid-1990s as Assistant Independent Council for the Starr investigation, then probing Bill and Hillary Clinton in the most sensitive case in the country. To my surprise, the incident has suddenly become a second front in his nomination saga on Capitol Hill. Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has accused him of violating secrecy laws by revealing the details of a federal grand jury. “Disclosing grand jury information is against the law,” she told Politico. She said it also showed he had misled the Senate by assuring categorically that he had never leaked grand jury material to journalists.

Sen Feinstein released a ‘smoking gun’ document from the archive files of the Starr investigation. It shows Mr Kavanaugh’s efforts to suppress a news story about his wild cross-examination of a witness, including a wayward discussion of “genitalia” that particularly worried him. This piqued my interest since I am named in the document and the witness – Patrick Knowlton – was in a sense ‘my witness’. Sen Feinstein is doubtless unaware of the larger, surreal story behind that week, and what it might suggest about rogue operations at the heart of the US federal system.

The document is one of hundreds of papers released by the US National Archives this year. For me it has been a strange journey back in time, like reading your old STASI file in East Berlin. There is one handwritten note by a Starr prosecutor stating – obliquely – “Ambrose about to go off the deep end”. OK, nobody is perfect.

There were debriefing memos of clandestine meetings I had with federal agents and prosecutors. One from Shoney’s restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas; another from a dinner at the Occidental Grill in Washington (my old haunt). Mr Knowlton had been called to the grand jury because of a story in the Telegraph. Little did I know then that I was about to turn this brave man’s life upside down.

He was a crime scene witness in the death of Vincent Foster, the White House aide and ex-law partner of Hillary Clinton. At the time this was a mystery case, a big story during my tenure as the Sunday Telegraph’s bureau chief in Washington. I had tracked down Mr Knowlton and discovered that the Starr probe had never spoken to him, even though he had been the first person at the Fort Marcy death location and had highly-relevant information.

I showed him his FBI ‘302’ witness statement from the earlier, superficial Fiske probe. He had never seen the words attributed to him before. Mr Knowlton was stunned. It contradicted his express assertions. He said the FBI had tried repeatedly to badger him into changing his story on key facts. Each time he refused. Now it appeared they had written in what they wanted to hear. He agreed to go public and accused the FBI of falsifying his witness statement. This was to court trouble.As soon as the print edition of the Telegraph reached Washington, the Starr investigation issued a subpoena calling Mr Knowlton to the grand jury. He was to face questioning by Brett Kavanaugh.

Mr Kavanaugh was then a cocky 30 year-old from the affluent WASP suburbs of Northwest Washington, very much the country club boy with a high sense of his status, and Georgetown Prep and Yale Law School behind him, though only with a humdrum Cum Laude. If anybody was going to wind up my hard-scrabble, salt-of-America witness, it was this child of privilege. What happened first was an eye-opener. Before testifying, he suffered two days of what appeared to be systematic intimidation by a large surveillance team. This was observed by two other witnesses, including Chris Ruddy, now the powerful chief executive of NewsMax.

Mr Ruddy called me in shock from Dupont Circle to recount what he saw. A deeply-shaken Mr Knowlton contacted me from his home several times, until his phone was cut off. Veteran intelligence agents might recognise a method. It had the hallmarks of a boilerplate softening-up operation. In my view – unprovable – the objective was to frighten him before his grand jury appearance. It smacked of police state behaviour on the streets of Washington DC.

I informed Mr Starr’s office that their grand jury witness was being intimidated. So did Mr Knowlton’s lawyer, who asked for witness protection. Nothing was done. Mr Kavanaugh brushed it off, saying the Telegraph was behind all this mischief in order to “sell newspapers”. When Mr Knowlton appeared at the grand jury – thinking he was doing his civic duty – he says he was subjected to two and a half hours of character assassination by Mr Kavanaugh. There was little attempt to find out what he knew about the Foster death scene.

Could it be that the witness was distraught and imagined much of this? Possibly. But Mr Knowlton and his lawyer later filed a federal lawsuit against FBI agents he claimed were working for Brett Kavanaugh, alleging witness tampering and a conspiracy to violate his civil rights. This eventually reached the US District Court in Washington DC. The quixotic case was impossible to prove. Yet it was the action of a man who clearly felt wronged. To this day he blames Mr Kavanaugh personally.

Thousands of documents from the Starr probe are still secret. Others are redacted. It is impossible to know whether Mr Kavanaugh was linked to any intimidation or obstruction of justice, but there is no doubt in my mind that he failed to protect the rights of his own grand jury witness. This is not the place to revisit the Foster case, the electric third rail of US politics. But it is worth noting two points that touch on Mr Kavanaugh.

Few people are aware that the US federal prosecutor handling the death investigation at the outset, Miquel Rodriguez, had resigned earlier from the Starr investigation after a bitter dispute. His resignation letter – later leaked – said he was prevented from pursuing investigative leads, that FBI witness statements did not reflect what witnesses had said, that the suicide verdict was premature, and that his grand jury probe was shut down just as he was beginning to uncover evidence. An informed source told me his work had been sabotaged by his own FBI agents.

The nub of the dispute was over compelling evidence of a wound in Foster’s neck, which contradicted the official version that Foster shot himself in the mouth and had essentially been suppressed. The key crime scene photos had vanished and the FBI labs said others were over-exposed and useless. Mr Rodriguez, by then suspicious, slipped them to the Smithsonian Institution and had them enhanced. One showed a black stippled ring like a gunshot wound in the side of Foster’s neck. This remains secret but I have seen it.

The photo was pivotal. It confirmed what several people who handled the body had originally stated. I interviewed the first rescue worker on the scene and when I asked him about the mouth wound, he grabbed me, and said with frightening intensity: “listen to me buddy, Foster was shot right here,” jabbing his finger into my neck. He said the FBI had pressured him too into changing his story and that official narrative was a pack of lies. Mr Kavanaugh’s reaction to the findings of his colleague can be found in the stash of released documents from the Starr inquiry. One says in his hand-written notes: “startling discovery”, “blew up portions of photo – trauma to the neck on rt side”, “appears to be bullet hole”.

He was presented with a long analysis by Rodriguez that ripped apart the earlier Fiske report and called for an open homicide investigation. This had huge implications for the Clinton presidency and caused an internal crisis in the Starr office. A decision was made to shut down that part of probe. Miquel Rodriguez said he was “forced out”. It was the end of the only genuine probe of the Foster death – conducted under oath – that had ever occurred. Mr Kavanaugh faced a choice. He chose to go with the establishment rather than stick up for his colleague. This proved good for his career. He took over the grand jury, by then a legacy showpiece. His treatment of my witness revealed his colours.

Mr Kavanaugh went on to write the Starr Report on the Foster death. But Mr Knowlton got the last word, literally. He filed a 511-page report at the US Federal Court with evidence alleging a pattern of skullduggery, and asked that it be attached to the Starr Report. The three top judges did not agree but they ordered that a shorter 20-page version be attached at the end, despite vehement protest from the Starr office. This had never happened before in the history of the office of the independent council.

This summary asserts that the FBI had “concealed the true facts”, that there had been witness tampering, and that the report had wilfully ignored facts that refuted its own conclusions. There it sits in perpetuity, a strange rebuke for Mr Kavanaugh by his own fellow judges on the federal bench.''

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard was the Sunday Telegraph’s Washington Bureau Chief from 1992 to 1997

That's that then. Did I read somewhere that 450 Law Professors in the USA signed a letter to the effect that, the emotional 'status' dsiplayed by Kavanaugh during his refutal should alone have disqualified him from elevation to the Supreme Court ? :o

FWIW I agree with them. The Grauniad comments on the wider situation :-

''For all the justified outrage about sexual assault, involving allegations that Kavanaugh denied, the new supreme court justice represents an even bigger lie than his mindless fabrications about “ralphing” and “boofing”. He can blame his weak stomach if he likes; the rest of us are heaving at the sight of a generation-long confidence trick suckering an entire democracy.''

Dr Ford herself had commented that in bringing this action against Kavanaugh, she was stepping in front of a train - that's proved to be so. Have some Senators voted against their 'better judgement' ? I would guess so.

Transgender’ Could Be Defined Out of Existence Under Trump Administration

Read about this in a Dutch newspaper and there the following info was given (I tried to translate it correctly into English):

The department does, however, refer to a statement made by a conservative judge in 2016 in Texas. This judge ruled that there is no legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

To me that sounds like reversed discrimination or am I understanding this wrong?

Transgender’ Could Be Defined Out of Existence Under Trump Administration

Read about this in a Dutch newspaper and there the following info was given (I tried to translate it correctly into English):

The department does, however, refer to a statement made by a conservative judge in 2016 in Texas. This judge ruled that there is no legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

To me that sounds like reversed discrimination or am I understanding this wrong?

In March, Trump said the Saudi military deals would produce 40,000 jobs. Ten days ago, he made it 450,000 jobs. [13 October 2018]A few days later, he said it was 500,000 jobs. [17 October 2018]Then he upgraded that to 600,000 jobs. [19 October 2018]The next day he increased it to a million jobs. [20 October 2018]

Sources below.

20 March 2018 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-kingdom-saudi-arabia-bilateral-meeting) "We’re talking about over 40,000 jobs in the United States."

13 October 2018 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-meeting-pastor-andrew-brunson) "... order for the military. It’s $110 billion. I believe it’s the largest order ever made. It’s 450,000 jobs."

17 October 2018 (https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-saudi-arabia-has-a-tremendous-order-for-weapons-that-can-create-500000-jobs) "Who are we hurting? It will be 500,000 jobs, 110 billion dollars." [5m30s into the video]

19 October 2018 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-signing-presidential-memorandum-promote-reliable-supply-delivery-water-west) "We have $450 billion worth of things ordered from a very rich country — Saudi Arabia. Six-hundred thousand jobs; maybe more than that. And it would be very hurtful to this country if we said, “Oh, we’re not going to sell it to you.”"

20 October 2018 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-defense-roundtable) "So now if you’re talking about — that was $110 billion — you know, you’re talking about over a million jobs. You know, I’d rather keep the million jobs, and I’d rather find another solution."

John Oliver's take on President Trump's immigration policy. Worth sticking with and particularly emotional in the last 5 minutes or so. JO 'effs' a lot, sometimes it IS funny. Sometimes it's just 'eff'.

At one point Trump claims that there is a ZERO chance that those on asylum applications will report for their hearings some time later - actually, 99.3% do ???

Certainly a 'raw' story or two in this article - and a very interesting interview to watch at the end of this link :-

''MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said President Donald Trump is “freaked out” now that Democrats gained subpoena power over him after retaking the House of Representatives. The “Morning Joe” host said the president’s unhinged news conference Wednesday — and his firing of attorney general Jeff Sessions — was a response to the midterm election results.

“The bottom line is, he lost big time yesterday,” said co-host Mika Brzezinski. “He hates losing. On top of it, Democrats have gained the power to basically ask him every question they finally want the answer to” . . . . . “Donald Trump was freaked out yesterday,” Scarborough said. “Everybody could see how freaked out he was. It was embarrassing watching him fire Jeff Sessions.” Scarborough said the Sessions sacking, and his deeply conflicted temporary replacement, should be considered additional evidence in the special counsel probe Trump’s trying to stop.''

President Trump's tweet today .. .. .. .. ''There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!''

Just come back from Chok Chai to Korat and the driver, a retired Suranari Prof., made a point of blaming the ENVIRONMENTALISTS for the severity of such fires ?? :o He had a point - apparently, for environmental reasons, in the care of forests, removal of the forest residue on the ground is not possible. Result - a tinderbox. And 'firebreaks' cannot be cut through the trees to make a barrier against the fire's progress, because it disturbs wildlife movements . . . . .

So after 10 years of drought in California, a lightning strike or a fag end and a 50 mph wind - result - horror.

I often argue with this Guy (and we can do so without falling out), but I thought these serious points. God help these poor Folks, be they Joe Bloggs or a 'Celebrity' ;)

''Katy Perry has criticised Donald Trump’s response to the California wildfires as “absolutely heartless” after he said they were the result of poor forest management. The singer was outraged after the US president threatened to withdraw federal funding from the US Forest Service. The blaze, which is tearing through southern California, has forced celebrities including Kim Kardashian West, Will Smith, Caitlyn Jenner and Denise Richards to leave their homes, while Lady Gaga and Guillermo Del Toro have said they fear their properties would go up in flames.''

I'd just mention that maybe such people are avid environmentalists. Me too.

So for Katy Perry, no doubt well intentioned, how about this quote ? ''The man who leans his shoulder on an infirm door, gets an unjustified reputation - something is to be attributed to the state of the door'' - I can't find who said that, (Anton - who was that ? ), but it seems appropriate to Trump's intervention this time - the joy and risks of a 'treeshake' mentality.

President Trump is a loose cannon in many ways but IMHO, sometimes, he may have a point >:(

'' ‘Dead’: California GOP totally collapses — and even its former vice chairperson says the party ‘isn’t salvageable’ ''

The GOP bemoaning the Trump effect :-

''Republican principles used to be about helping other people. We believed in lifting people up out of poverty by giving them robust and free economic opportunities and by providing a world-class education. We stood for giving people the freedom to run their own lives and businesses without undue government interference.

We welcomed people from all over the world who sought to live the American Dream and contribute to the economy and society. They could be secure in knowing that they would not be persecuted for who they are and that they could build strong families and vibrant neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, tragically, that is not the Republican Party promoted by President Donald Trump and his brand of national politics today. We have lost our way, and it’s killing any opportunity for political balance and thoughtful debate in California, elements that good public policy relies on.''

John Oliver is brilliant: sometimes his comedic 'asides' are in bad taste (or just not funny) but when he is being serious he makes his points very well. I think he is particularly strong when he uses the interviews from other channels and stations that support the discussion thread. We could do with him coming back to the UK for a few weeks to do some dissecting of the current debacle...

Coolkorat, agree with "John Oliver is brilliant: sometimes his comedic 'asides' are in bad taste (or just not funny) but when he is being serious he makes his points very well. I think he is particularly strong when he uses the interviews from other channels and stations that support the discussion thread. We could do with him coming back to the UK for a few weeks to do some dissecting of the current debacle..." in the main.

Just a slight point of order: "sometimes his comedic 'asides' are in bad taste (or just not funny)".If they're funny, they're funny. All considerations of bad taste are then therefore irrelevant.

John Oliver is funny, witty, intelligent and entertaining. But - he's a Leftie and cannot resist allowing his personal politics to influence his comedic delivery.Some say 'There are no Right wing comediens.' Not so, it's just that right-wingers are adept at separating their personal views from their occupation.

Good grief - Michael Cohen, Pres. Trump's confidante and fixer, is off to jail for 3 years. Cohen has this accolade for his erstwhile Boss . . .

''Today is one of the most meaningful days of my life. The irony is that today I get my freedom back'' Cohen told the court.''Blind loyalty to this man [Trump] led me to choose a path of darkness over light.''

And, ''The prosecutors from the Southern District of New York have already said that Trump directed Cohen to carry out criminal violations of campaign finance law — and the case directly against the president appears to only be getting stronger.''

James Mattis, Trump's Defense Secretary has submitted a resignation letter - ''Mr Mattis said he could no longer support the president’s decisions.''

''In particular, Mr Mattis is said to disagree with Mr Trump’s decision, announced the previous day, to withdraw troops from Syria – a decision he was reportedly not consulted on. It was reported on Thursday evening that Mr Trump was also considering withdrawing all US troops - currently 14,000 - from Afghanistan.''

''“One core belief I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships,” he wrote. “We cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those strong allies.”''

''The departure of defense secretary Jim Mattis from the Trump administration, announced late Thursday, prompted concern about its timing, falling as it did one day after Donald Trump announced a surprise withdrawal from Syria and as reports circulated that the president was considering a similar withdrawal from Afghanistan.But anxieties were motivated by deeper concerns. For foreign policy analysts, government officials, allies abroad and observers at home, Mattis was the last of a four-person group of Trump administration heavyweights once seen as providing a corrective to the president’s more mercurial tendencies.

By this view, Mattis and his cohorts – national security adviser HR McMaster, chief of staff John Kelly and secretary of state Rex Tillerson – provided vital ballast for a ship of state prone to lurching in unpredictable ways . . .''

''Trump has been isolated in bunker mode in recent weeks as political and personal crises mount, according to interviews with 27 current and former White House officials, Republican lawmakers, and outside advisers to the president, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer candid assessments. “There’s going to be an intervention,” one former senior administration official said speculatively. “Jim Mattis just sent a shot across the bow. He’s the most credible member of the administration by five grades of magnitude. He’s the steady, safe set of hands. And this letter is brutal. He quit because of the madness.”''

and . . .

''In his resignation letter, Mattis wrote, “My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues . . . Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position.”''

Ive never really been interested in political events and have not really been following what President Trump is up to , but every time I look at my world news web page , its full of what seems to be vast amounts of Trump negative news reports and stinging comments. So a simple question from a simple man :)

Has President Trump while in office actually done any thing that has been a benefit to the American people .

Ken you ask - ''Has President Trump while in office actually done any thing that has been a benefit to the American people?''

Well there must be something but I'm not an expert either . . .

Here's some more negatives :o

''Accounts from inside the White House, such as Bob Woodward’s book Fear, confirm that Mattis had manage to steer the president from impulsive moves that would have turned the world on its head, like pulling the US out of Nato, or launching assassination strikes against Bashar al-Assad of Syria and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.''

It get's worse :-

''‘Trump and Putin could end the world today’

The ever-present possibility of an unintended or unforeseen conflict flaring up increases fears among defence analysts over how Trump might respond without experienced figures like Mattis at his side. “President Trump has yet to be faced with a true international crisis,” said Alexandra Bell, a senior policy director at the Centre for Arms Control and Non-proliferation. “His behaviour and actions give little hope that he’ll react to pressure with calm resolve.” Bell pointed out that under the US command and control system, there is no institutional brake on Trump ordering a nuclear launch.

“The world must also come to grips with the fact that we have placed an inordinate amount of faith in the ability of individual leaders to behave rationally. By choice or miscalculation, President Trump and President Putin could end the world today and there’s little any of us could do to stop them. What’s worse is that’s the way we designed it.”''

Don't wanna bore you Guys and Waterheart - but there's some great photos in this link :-

''Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful wall” has become the trademark of his presidency. It is the promise that more than any other has energized his base, and riled his opponents, and his dogged attachment to it has now brought a large part of the US government to a historic 25 days of partial shutdown.

The potency of Trump’s wall – for his supporters and his detractors – stems from its simplicity. Build it tall, build it wide – he has pledged 1,000 miles of it – and America will be safe again. But how does that uncomplicated notion compare to the complexity of the border itself? Taken as a whole, the 1,954 miles of US-Mexican border is a place of astounding diversity – of terrain, of land-use, of city and countryside, of ethnicity. It traverses desert, river, mountain and sea.''

''Donald Trump reached a deal with Democrats on Friday to temporarily end the longest shutdown in US history, without any funding for his proposed border wall. The 35-day shutdown has seen 800,000 government workers being sent home or working without pay since before Christmas.

Mr Trump agreed to the three-week re-opening of government departments and to leave the issue of wall funding to future negotiations. The decision came as government workers faced increasing hardship, many missing mortgage and car payments, airports suffered chaos, and the head of the FBI lambasted the shutdown.''

'' 'No agreement reached', White House says Talks broke down over lifting of US sanctions No third summit committed to by either leader Where did it all go wrong between Trump and Kim? Five things to watch as Donald Trump meets Kim Jong-un Trump urges 'friend Kim' to see Vietnam as blueprint for NK

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have failed to reach an agreement on denuclearising North Korea at their Vietnam summit, defying expectations that a deal of some form would be struck.''

''Now Mueller, speaking at long last to the American people, has again announced with fierce precision, that the President of the United States may have committed federal crimes, and that there is a process to prosecute a chief executive. And he reminded us, once again, that contrary to Trump's endless equivocation, "The Russian military launched a concerted attack on our political system," trying to "damage a presidential candidate." They aimed to hurt Hillary Clinton, he made plain -- something Trump refuses to acknowledge.''

OMG I didn't think that President Trump could get any more bizarre. Will the USA re-elect this Guy ?I noted that 1. in some way ex-President Obama might be to blame and 2. People shouldn't say 'not nice' things. He is reacting like a big Baby ! Strewth ::)

He is obviously dying to nuke someone or something......!President Donald Trump has suggested several times to senior national security officials that they look into the use of nuclear bombs to prevent hurricanes from reaching the United States.A source who was at a White House briefing Sunday said Trump asked why a bomb can’t be dropped inside the eye of the hurricane to disrupt it as it heads across the Atlantic from Africa. The briefer "was knocked back on his heels," the source said, adding that "people were astonished.”The idea has occasionally been raised over the years, even though scientists agree it won't work. To counter the notion that it is feasible, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has even published an on line fact sheet, which points out: “Apart from the fact that this might not even alter the storm, this approach neglects the problem that the released radioactive fallout would fairly quickly move with the tradewinds to affect land areas and cause devastating environmental problems.”

''Donald Trump announced by tweet that he fired his national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday, citing “strong” disagreements with his proposals. The pair had recently clashed over Afghanistan policy, with Mr Bolton opposing a plan to invite the Taliban to Camp David for peace talks that was later scrapped.''

I hate to get into a political or religious discussion but I might as well put in my 2 cents as a US citizen. The one thing I can say good about Trump is he is not a politician. He owes nothing to nobody. Unfortunately as a successful and ruthless businessman he like things his way and is use to firing people who do have the same philosophy as he does. He has a BIG ego and sometimes get in the way. BUT he is not a pussy like Obama was and takes shit from no one which in a way is good and bad as he is a tough negotiator when he doesn't get his way.

The US has many irons in many fires and in my opinion as a combat veteran way too many. The US gives monetary aid to 192 countries and what does it get in return, not much if anything. What would happen if the US decided to practice Isolationism and give nothing to nobody and pull troops out of all foreign counties and just protect its boarders. Think about that scenario.

Of all the leaders of countries I think the president of the US, whoever he may be, has the hardest job of any leader.

RDRO - If the one good thing about Trump is NOT being a Politician - that's not great. As you say, he likes to have his own way and can be 'tough'. I agree with you that we should not expect the US to be the World's Policeman but Trump is actively involved in all these areas - it doesn't seem much has been achieved in his 3 years :-\

Robert - nowt' wrong with 'discussions about politics and/or religions' - agreeing to disagree is OK.I don't think RDRO has actually been very positive about Trump but I'm guessing you are not a Fan ?

We must ALL agree that the job the President of the US is VERY arduous and demanding 8)

Of all the leaders of countries I think the president of the US, whoever he may be, has the hardest job of any leader.

I agree: Whoever is president is the leader of the 'western' world, and perhaps that's a world that has come to believe it is entitled to sit in the shade of a US umbrella protecting them from harm. That Donald has shaken them and made them realise this is not the case is a good thing, and I think what he is doing with regards to the southern border is a good thing but would be better as part of a more detailed strategy to stabilise countries in S America. Like every president he is a 'curate's egg' - good in parts, unpalatable in others.

I see Anthony Scaramucci is now pointing to 'mental decline' in DT. He is suggesting DT might not make it to a second term. Not sure about that, as ego drives him more than anything. Interestingly DT teased a TRUMP 2024 poster. People jumped on the assumption he wants a third term. I disagree; I think Pence might be off the posters because DT is going to replace him as VP with Ivanka, and line her up to run in 2024. If he runs next year with Ivanka on the ticket it is very possible he might stand down part way through the term to give her experience in the Oval Office ahead of a clear run in 2024. Having his daughter as first female US president might be the ultimate ego trip for him.

Some may find this post I came across interestingBy Chris Murphy US senator

“This is such irresponsible simplification and it’s how we get into dumb wars of choice The Saudis and Houthis are at war. The Saudis attack the Houthis and the Houthis attack back. Iran is backing the Houthis and has been a bad actor, but it’s just not as simple as Houthis=Iran.”Chris Murphy

Secretary Pompeo @SecPompeoTehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy. Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply. There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.[/b]

Okay, in a few tweets I'm going to try to explain what's going on in Yemen today, so you have some knowledge to counter this claim that America needs to bomb Iran because the Houthis bombed Saudi Arabia. It's complicated, but now you need to know.

1. And frankly, no matter where this latest drone strike was launched from, there is no short or long term upside to the U.S. military getting more deeply involved in the growing regional contest between the Saudis and Iranians.

2/ The conflict btwn Saudi Arabia and Yemen roughly dates from the 1932 founding of Saudi Arabia, when the new kingdom took territory from Yemen in a war set off by a border dispute. The Saudis has attempted to influence Yemeni affairs every since.

3/ The Houthis are a group of Shia tribes in northern Yemen who practice a distinct form of Islam called Zaidism. In the 1980s, the Saudis began a campaign to push Sunni Wahabism into Houthi areas, creating massive friction with Houthi communities.

4/ Saudi Arabia sent Wahhabi settlers into Houthi areas to try to dilute Zaidism and increase Saudi influence in north Yemen. The Houthi resistance to the Saudis, and their patron governments in the Yemeni capital, grew and grew.

5/ In the 2000s, Saudi backed Yemeni governments carried out 6 separate wars against the now rebelling Houthis. Bush opposed most of these wars, believing the anti-Houthi campaigns to be doing more harm than good, especially as the Houthis began to reach out to Iran for help.

6/ Over the course of these wars, the Houthi military capabilities grew, and by 2010 they were the most battle tested army in Yemen. In 2015 they successfully marched on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and Saudi Arabia and UAE initiated a full fledged war against the Houthis.

7/ Since 2015, there have been atrocities committed by both sides. Casualties are hard to track, but it could be that 100,000 Yemenis have died in the war, and the resulting humanitarian disaster has resulted in another 100,000 children dying of starvation or disease.

8/ The cholera outbreak (the result of water treatment plants being destroyed) is the worst in recorded world history. Houthis refuse to let food & medicine reach contested areas. Saudis drop bombs on hospitals and school buses. Bottom line - it's the ugliest war on the planet.

9/ Over time, the Houthis have turned to Iran for more and more help. The Iranians don't have a command and control relationship with Houthis, but their influence grows every day the war continues. Houthi drones likely come from Iran.

10/ Over time, a dangerous game of escalating behavior has developed. Saudis kill a bunch of Houthi civilians, then the Houthis launch an attack in Saudi Arabia. The latest attack on the Saudi refinery follows a Saudi attack on Dhamar prison which killed 100 people.

11/ Bottom line: the Saudis sowed the seeds of this mess. They marginalized the Houthis in the 80s and thru the 2000s wars. They bungled the prosecution of the post 2015 conflict. Houthis/Iranians have blood on their hands too, but the U.S. should not be a part of this disaster.

President Trump seems to be finally on a hook - can he wriggle off ? Something fishy too about Joe Biden's son landing a $50K per month job in Ukraine without due reason and this saga may not do Biden much good either as he races for the Democrat nomination . . .

The real blow for Trump will be if evidence arises that he has used his power similarly elsewhere.

I'm not sure RDRO - I didn't think that tube itself was too convincing ??? - just spinning the other side of it. Fizzle out ? Maybe so.

I wonder if it's a Democrat plot to undermine Biden's bid - can't see Biden coming out of all this too well . . Sad to see Bernie Sanders has heart problems - just MO but he's too old to be President, (so is Trump).

I am not so sure of him being in the clear as yet Will be interesting following this with all the conspiracy theory’s and the President trying to normalize asking foreign leaders to investigate a politician opponent .Below is a copy of the transcript to me it reads a bit different than the TV story

The President: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike... I guess you have one of your wealthy people... The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you're surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it's very important that you do it if that's possible.President Zelenskyy: Yes it is very important for me and everything that you just mentioned earlier. For me as a President, it is very important and we are open for any future cooperation. We are ready to open a new page on cooperation in relations between the United States and Ukraine. For that purpose, I just recalled our ambassador from United States and he will be replaced by a very competent and very experienced ambassador who will work hard on making sure that our two nations are getting closer. I would also like and hope to see him having your trust and your confidence and have personal relations with you so we can cooperate even more so. I will personally tell you that one of my assistants spoke with Mr. Giuliani just recently and we are hoping very much that Mr. Giuliani will be able to travel to Ukraine and we will meet once he comes to Ukraine. I just wanted to assure you once again that you have nobody but friends around us. I will make sure that I surround myself with the best and most experienced people. I also wanted to tell you that we are friends. We are great friends and you Mr. President have friends in our country so we can continue our strategic partnership. I also plan to surround myself with great people and in addition to that investigation, I guarantee as the President of Ukraine that all the investigations will be done openly and candidly.. That I can assure you.The President: Good because I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that's really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved. Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the mayor of New York City, a great mayor, and I would like him to call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what's happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great. The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that. The other thing, There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it... It sounds horrible to me.President Zelenskyy: I wanted to tell you about the prosecutor. First of all, I understand and I'm knowledgeable about the situation. Since we have won the absolute majority in our Parliament, the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person, my candidate, who will be approved, by the parliament and will start as a new prosecutor in September. He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation of the case. On top of that, I would kindly ask you if you have any additional information that you can provide to us, it would be very helpful for the investigation to make sure that we administer justice in our country with regard to the Ambassador to the United States from Ukraine as far as I recall her name was Ivanovich. It was great that you were the first one who told me that she was a bad ambassador because I agree with you 100%. Her attitude towards me was far from the best as she admired the previous President and she was on his side. She would not accept me as a new President well enough.The President: Well, she's going to go through some things. I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I'm sure you will figure it out. I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your economy is going to get better and better I predict. You have a lot of assets. It's a great country. I have many Ukrainian friends, their incredible people.

I am not so sure of him being in the clear as yet Will be interesting following this with all the conspiracy theory’s and the President trying to normalize asking foreign leaders to investigate a politician opponent .Below is a copy of the transcript to me it reads a bit different than the TV story

The President: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike... I guess you have one of your wealthy people... The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you're surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it's very important that you do it if that's possible.President Zelenskyy: Yes it is very important for me and everything that you just mentioned earlier. For me as a President, it is very important and we are open for any future cooperation. We are ready to open a new page on cooperation in relations between the United States and Ukraine. For that purpose, I just recalled our ambassador from United States and he will be replaced by a very competent and very experienced ambassador who will work hard on making sure that our two nations are getting closer. I would also like and hope to see him having your trust and your confidence and have personal relations with you so we can cooperate even more so. I will personally tell you that one of my assistants spoke with Mr. Giuliani just recently and we are hoping very much that Mr. Giuliani will be able to travel to Ukraine and we will meet once he comes to Ukraine. I just wanted to assure you once again that you have nobody but friends around us. I will make sure that I surround myself with the best and most experienced people. I also wanted to tell you that we are friends. We are great friends and you Mr. President have friends in our country so we can continue our strategic partnership. I also plan to surround myself with great people and in addition to that investigation, I guarantee as the President of Ukraine that all the investigations will be done openly and candidly.. That I can assure you.The President: Good because I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that's really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved. Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the mayor of New York City, a great mayor, and I would like him to call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what's happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great. The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that. The other thing, There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it... It sounds horrible to me.President Zelenskyy: I wanted to tell you about the prosecutor. First of all, I understand and I'm knowledgeable about the situation. Since we have won the absolute majority in our Parliament, the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person, my candidate, who will be approved, by the parliament and will start as a new prosecutor in September. He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation of the case. On top of that, I would kindly ask you if you have any additional information that you can provide to us, it would be very helpful for the investigation to make sure that we administer justice in our country with regard to the Ambassador to the United States from Ukraine as far as I recall her name was Ivanovich. It was great that you were the first one who told me that she was a bad ambassador because I agree with you 100%. Her attitude towards me was far from the best as she admired the previous President and she was on his side. She would not accept me as a new President well enough.The President: Well, she's going to go through some things. I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I'm sure you will figure it out. I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your economy is going to get better and better I predict. You have a lot of assets. It's a great country. I have many Ukrainian friends, their incredible people.

That is not the original call transcript from July that the Democrats are up in arms over. Here is the transcript of the original call. No mention of Biden or his son anywhere.

This has become very messy with the release of the text conversations which seem to point clearly to pressure on Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden (see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49930863 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49930863)).

The element that is both curious and concerning is the continuing appearance of Rudy Giuliani. He is Trump's personal (unpaid!) lawyer. He does not have any official capacity.

However bad this is (and everyone knows DT did it for political gain; the Ukrainians were absolutely clear about that!) DT will shrug it off. I have no doubt he would be prepared to go as far as a 'Falklands+++' to bolster his domestic position and already has the Iranians in his sights.

I also agree with Roger. Biden is far from clean in all this. But perhaps he is a distraction. Perhaps the Dems have a nuclear option up their sleeves and Michelle Obama will stand at the last possible moment. If she does, Trump is doomed.

CK ,I think the ambassador got trump of the hook with the no QPQ comment But it all still all sounds a bit suspect Trump set out to slime Biden an he's achieved it to some degree even though Biden and son haven't broken any laws it all seems like crazy conspiracy theories Can't see M Obama getting into the fray guess its Warren ...Trump's preferred choice As re Trump starting an Iran war don't think he will as bodybags don't gather votes Saudi won't want one or anyone starting one now as Iran (allegedly) showed them how exposed their oil revenue is .Have to hand it to Iran clever move and done without the loss of one life these guys are not Iraq Will be interesting seeing what starts falling from the tree over the coming days

Joe Biden does not look like coming out of this very well. Hunter Biden is no doubt a talented Guy ;) but it's odd he lands a $50K per month/$600,000 pa job in Ukraine of all places.

In this edition of "From our own Correspondent" on BBC Radio, further question marks - the suggestion that when VP in 2016, by withholding a $1 billion loan guarantee to Ukraine, Biden lobbied the sacking of Viktor Shokhin, the Prosecutor General in Ukraine, who was investigating possible corruption in Hunter Biden's Company ;)

Rudi Giuliani has brought this to the fore as part of the defence of Trump's current 'intervention'. I'm not sure it helps Trump much ? ???

As for possible 'impeachment of Trump - maybe it's not fizzling out just yet.

Thanks for the clip Roger All so found this article that lays out the time line of event re: Biden Ukraine Like you say I dont think it will help Tump much at best Rudy went after Biden on litte or nothing

A really good link Jungle. Interesting that Hunter Biden had been discharged from the Navy on drugs matters a few months before taking up tasty employment in Ukraine for which he was obviously extremely well qualified ;) ??? It looks outrageous frankly.

Apparently some other Democrat offspring may have had similar bonanza - with this in the background the 'Impeachment' proceedings seem odd - unless the Demo's want to clean out some of their own candidates to make way for 'someone' whilst at the same time attacking Trump ???

Thanks Roger yes that was a good link its hard to find non bias articles on the netIt takes a lot of reading to get to the facts and I think Politian’s count on the public being lazy and going with FB and social sites and their shortened versions

Cant think that the Dems have a choice but to impeach Trump as he appears to be asking a foreign power to knee cap a political opponent (all a bit banana republic like really)Think the reason no one’s pushing boy Biden’s cocaine issue is half of DC is in the same boat LOL like Larry Kudlow director of the National Economic council is a reformed Coke addict and Alcoholic For me I cant see how they can claim that the Bidens have broken any laws that warrant by passing all the US law services and asking the new Ukraine administration to start an investigation based on what ?But will say I think they all need to clean up their acts Anyway all that aside don’t you think Ivanka and Jared are doing well in their roles :0)

Jungle re your reply some days ago. I think that Trump may be in real trouble with this Impeachment process and even today he apparently had a 'raptus' at a meeting with the Democrats. His latest decision to withdraw US troops from Syria has caused widespread dismay and derision.

As for Joe Biden, I don't think his Candidacy should survive as he has obviously helped his Son get remunerative positions in Ukraine, China and ? That's corrupt >:(

I just watched an episode of 'Madam Secretary' where after eccentric and dangerous behaviour, the President gets unseated by the Cabinet for a period and the Vice P takes over. So is 'Life' imitating 'ART' in the case of Trump too ;) (I really enjoy that programme when I can catch it).

RDRO just noticed your comment about discrediting Joe Biden - the other side of the Trump/Ukraine issue is that NO way IMHO should JB be accepted as a Candidate. Discharged from the US Army his Son quickly picks up well paid jobs in Ukraine and China for which he has NO qualifications . . .

Moving on - fake news or not ?

"President Donald Trump decided not to actively confront Saudi Arabia's crown prince over the grislly murderer of columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year because he was afraid global oil prices would spike, according to a forthcoming book.

'Do you know how stupid it would be to pick this fight?' Trump asked, according to 'A Warning,' penned by an anonymous author described as a senior Trump administration official. 'Oil would go up to one hundred fifty dollars a barrel. Jesus. How f***ing stupid would I be?' "

RDRO just noticed your comment about discrediting Joe Biden - the other side of the Trump/Ukraine issue is that NO way IMHO should JB be accepted as a Candidate. Discharged from the US Army his Son quickly picks up well paid jobs in Ukraine and China for which he has NO qualifications . . .

Moving on - fake news or not ?

"President Donald Trump decided not to actively confront Saudi Arabia's crown prince over the grislly murderer of columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year because he was afraid global oil prices would spike, according to a forthcoming book.

'Do you know how stupid it would be to pick this fight?' Trump asked, according to 'A Warning,' penned by an anonymous author described as a senior Trump administration official. 'Oil would go up to one hundred fifty dollars a barrel. Jesus. How f***ing stupid would I be?' "

No way will he get impeached on hearsay evidence and so far it has been all hearsay. The Senate will not even consider a trail on hearsay evidence. This is just a smoke screen by the far Left to discredit Trump in hopes it will swing some votes their way in the 2020 presidential election.

Anything a 'Witness' says can be labelled 'hearsay' but can still have an impact. We're seeing a lot of testimony under oath that seems quite damning. I wonder what's needed to persuade some Republicans in the Senate to move against him.

Yesterday, Trump tweeted live, intimidating a Witness as she stood on the stand. That's surely unprecedented.

Just MO but truly shocking to see this stuff from the President of the USA.

Anything a 'Witness' says can be labelled 'hearsay' but can still have an impact. We're seeing a lot of testimony under oath that seems quite damning. I wonder what's needed to persuade some Republicans in the Senate to move against him.

Yesterday, Trump tweeted live, intimidating a Witness as she stood on the stand. That's surely unprecedented.

Just MO but truly shocking to see this stuff from the President of the USA.

Hersey is second or third hand information an can not be used in a trail in the Senate. Trump is not very presidential but he gets things done. The US economy is at record highs and unemployment is at a 50 year low. Can't argue with success.

Re. 'hearsay'. I've spent some time watching the Impeachment proceedings and it seems as 'first hand' as possible and some highly respected figures are testifying. It seems a forensic process to me.

At the end of this New Yorker piece, there's video snips of Fiona Hill, David Holmes and Gordon Sonland's evidence, and more. It's worth watching the fuller testimony if you have time - they seem to me to be very straight Folks.

That's IN CONTRAST to President Trump - just MO but he is flakey and didn't help his chances by bringing the even more flakey Giullianni into the fray . .

Most of the people who testify are career politicians who are not loyal to Trump and have there own opinions (hearsay) against him. There is no real evidence like a tape recording or written evidence. The transcript of the call in question is open to interpretation. Those in favor of Trump say no quid pro quo and those who do not like Trump say it is quid pro quo.

It's all he said she said. Since the Left has control of the House they will vote to send the inquiry to the Senate for trial. Since the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is in charge of the trial in the Senate and Federal rules will apply.

Rule 802 – The Rule Against HearsayHearsay is not admissible unless any of the following provides otherwise:

Interesting reading Roger and rd Roger I agree with you most of the witness appear very creditable . Feel for the EU ambassador Sondland forking out a cool 1 mill just to get a front row seat to the show :0/Finding it a bit disappointing that none of those loyal to Trump are coming forward to defend him at these hearings Rd like you I cant see Trump being forced from office as the republicans will just vote it down no matter what I am curious what happens when this all moves to the senate will it be like a normal trial ?And can witness, documents and the entire telephone transcript be compelled?

Interesting reading Roger and rd Roger I agree with you most of the witness appear very creditable . Feel for the EU ambassador Sondland forking out a cool 1 mill just to get a front row seat to the show :0/Finding it a bit disappointing that none of those loyal to Trump are coming forward to defend him at these hearings Rd like you I cant see Trump being forced from office as the republicans will just vote it down no matter what I am curious what happens when this all moves to the senate will it be like a normal trial ?And can witness, documents and the entire telephone transcript be compelled?

If there was a trail in the Senate it would be held like any other trail with witnesses and cross examining from both sides but unless there is concrete evidence of a wrong doing and not just hearsay the Chief Justice will not start a trail as Federal law will not allow someone to be convicted just on hearsay.

Interesting reading Roger and rd Roger I agree with you most of the witness appear very creditable . Feel for the EU ambassador Sondland forking out a cool 1 mill just to get a front row seat to the show :0/Finding it a bit disappointing that none of those loyal to Trump are coming forward to defend him at these hearings Rd like you I cant see Trump being forced from office as the republicans will just vote it down no matter what I am curious what happens when this all moves to the senate will it be like a normal trial ?And can witness, documents and the entire telephone transcript be compelled?

If there was a trail in the Senate it would be held like any other trail with witnesses and cross examining from both sides but unless there is concrete evidence of a wrong doing and not just hearsay the Chief Justice will not start a trail as Federal law will not allow someone to be convicted just on hearsay.

Trump knew about the 'whistleblower' before he released the promised military aid to Ukraine.Rudy Giuliani in the front line and feeling defensive now ? If Giuliani is 'thrown under the Bus', he has insurance ;)Worth a listen if you have time.

Roger imho I can't see that happening just yet as the Republicans will in effect be the jury when it comes to the final vote But the Dems still have a lot of tree shaking to do yet The amount of BS over all this is just mind boggling just looking between CNN and Fox one wounders what's happened to journalism

Trump knew about the 'whistleblower' before he released the promised military aid to Ukraine.Rudy Giuliani in the front line and feeling defensive now ? If Giuliani is 'thrown under the Bus', he has insurance ;)Worth a listen if you have time.

President Trump - 53 minutes of 'loose cannon' wallop ;) Just MO but the USA would be much better off without him and Joe Biden.

Everyone is entitled to there own opinion. Being a conservative American I can say the USA economy is doing the best in the last 50 years. As long as Trump keeps America's economy and jobless rate going in the right direction I am for him. Being a disabled veteran I like that he is working to make the Veteran Administration more friendly for disabled veterans.

Fair enough RDRO - but the USA is about much more than an Economy and who's to say another Republican couldn't do the same or better with that ?

A former Republican Rep about GOP colleagues - ". . . . there’s no question, having spoken to many of them privately, they’re absolutely disgusted and exhausted by the president’s behavior. They resent being put in this position all the time."

"Dent admitted that, based on what he has heard, Trump has committed offenses that rise to the level of impeachment, but feels the Democrats have much more to offer before going to trial."

Fair enough RDRO - but the USA is about much more than an Economy and who's to say another Republican couldn't do the same or better with that ?

A former Republican Rep about GOP colleagues - ". . . . there’s no question, having spoken to many of them privately, they’re absolutely disgusted and exhausted by the president’s behavior. They resent being put in this position all the time."

"Dent admitted that, based on what he has heard, Trump has committed offenses that rise to the level of impeachment, but feels the Democrats have much more to offer before going to trial."Just another Trump hater voicing his OPINION. Opinions will not convict Trump. There are some thing about Trump that I do not agree with but its just my opinion.

I have been telling you right along he will not be impeached. You not being an American citizen and not living with the US politics all your life I am not sure you know how deep the Deep State goes in American politics.

The American people are getting feed up with the Left and the Deep State as most are not stupid. Just a few short clips.

Roger,Nothing to do with the impeachment but just thought I would show you how the far right Christian conservatives see the 2020 Democratic candidates. These people are mostly in the Bible Belt in the southern US.

Interesting stuff So how many US citizens voted Republic /Democrat last election ? Not to sure what deep state isis it a trump hater thing ?

The vote was almost 50/50. The turning point is how the Independents vote as most Democrats and Republican voters vote for there candidate. The Independents are not strong enough to have their 3rd party candidate on the ballot but they are strong enough to sway an election. Right now about 60% of Independents are for Trump and the ones that are not are getting sick and tired of the impeachment hearings and think their representatives should be working to pass bills to help the population.Here is a definition of the Deep State in the USA

The "deep state" is a conspiracy theory which suggests that collusion and cronyism exist within the US political system and constitute a hidden government within the legitimately elected government.

If this is what an "American Thinker" believes, God help Us All. For those 4 qualities listed, one might alternatively say, "overbearing and repulsive personality, without gravitas or dignity having a chaotic and blundering approach and unable to express himself with any grace, clarity or modesty at all."

I can hardly believe my eyes at his antics. Sorry if I offend . . .

On the US economy I've seen credible articles that it's heading for trouble but we'll see. ATB

I try not to read any of the anti Trump news sites. I stick to the conservative sites like the National Review www.nationalreview.com, The Blaze www.theblaze.com/ and The American Thinker www.americanthinker.com/

I would imagine it is both some facts and some speculation. I do not think any leader of a major country is without some kind of dealing some people would think is underhanded or criminal. Sometimes you have to make deals to better the position of your country. I would think Trump has done some of these type dealings but I think he has done them to better the USA (at least he thinks so) and he has not done them to better himself financially or personally.

Thanks for posting the news sites you receive your information from will be looking at them As for myself I feel if I excluded any site that has negative articles re: Trump I won’t get to the truth These sites I’ve found useful for Bias and fact checking https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/ https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/

Re: Turkey It looks like he’s compromised himself by still having business interests in a foreign country Which could have been avoided if he had followed political norms at the beginning and given up those business For me there are a lot of unanswered questions as to what the reasons behind the appalling Syrian withdrawal also worth bearing in mind there are still troops stationed there ..

Yep the Media gets it wrong and even makes it up at times but Trumps not alone on being the victim of this (Obama and the birther thing) and every other political leader true its getting worse In my own opinion The media is either owned by someone who mostly has an agenda and/or catering to a certain market (left or right) Sorting fact from fiction isn’t easy and its become even more difficult nowadays with instant social media and new opinion channels spewing forth disinformation, half truths and unfounded conspiracy theories some them just to make money on click counts or ratings What is hard for me to understand is the acceptance /unwillingness off many media outlets to vigorously challenge the obvious falsehoods and lies (maybe there’s just too much of it to deal with) One example of the current sad state of play is facebook and their support of political parties posting PAID FOR adds that are known to be untrue, lies and fake Zuks FB statement was it’s the public’s right to all the information so they can make their own mind up ?? Irony to that is after he and Theil had a secret dinner meeting at the white house with Trump and were caught out his reply to questions was …. oh that’s private :0/ When it comes to upholding the Truth I don’t think Trump is the standard bearer :0)

So I will see your 101 media mistakes And raise you 5276 Trump False statements (Please except this in the humors vein it is meant:0)

Trump has a big mouth and speaks before he thinks and pays the price. The thing what bothers me is I am 72 years old and an American citizen all my life and this is the first time I have seen a president fact checked so much or talked about so negatively by the mainstream media. There is an ugly current from the far Left that I have never seen before. There are far more damaging presidents than Trump in the past and this has never happened.

Trump has a big mouth and speaks before he thinks and pays the price. The thing what bothers me is I am 72 years old and an American citizen all my life and this is the first time I have seen a president fact checked so much or talked about so negatively by the mainstream media. There is an ugly current from the far Left that I have never seen before. There are far more damaging presidents than Trump in the past and this has never happened.

Exactly what I have been saying. He must have read my mind or read our thread. lol

Trump has a big mouth and speaks before he thinks and pays the price. The thing what bothers me is I am 72 years old and an American citizen all my life and this is the first time I have seen a president fact checked so much or talked about so negatively by the mainstream media. There is an ugly current from the far Left that I have never seen before. There are far more damaging presidents than Trump in the past and this has never happened.

Exactly what I have been saying. He must have read my mind or read our thread. lol

Great article thanks for sharing RD the past just aint that glorious is it Re: your previous post would have to say for me its appears to be extremely polarized with each side equally trying to delegitimize the other and I believe that has been going on since before Trump arrived on the scene all not realy good for democracy or good goverment Re: MSM Trump does have Fox and others well on his side For me the availability of fact checking to the public is something newer, one would have thought it would slow down the B/S by exposing it but there’s now more B/S than before .. :0/

Hi RDRO. Was that 'good' or was that 'spin' ? That's the question . . . .

"Despite constant change, polls show that most Americans have locked in their opinions on President Donald Trump, impeachment, and many of the 2020 Democratic contenders. If those opinions are locked in, two things are likely to happen: Former Vice President Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee, and he will beat Trump. Polls show that Trump is unpopular in some swing states, and Biden is outperforming Trump in many of those states." . . . .

"We're living in the era of nothing matters. The president has peddled obvious mistruths, yet many people still take him at his word. The president bullies a minor on Twitter and is retweeted aplenty. The president invites foreign governments to play in our elections, and congressional Republicans are outraged — but not at him. By any reasonable measure, Trump's misdeeds have far surpassed former Presidents Richard Nixon's and Bill Clinton's. But his popularity, and unpopularity, are intact."

Roger. It's all spin or someones opinion either Left or Right. The Democrats has been trying for 3 years to get ride of Trump and have no concrete evidence. It is just perception and one can not be impeached on perception.

I never go with what the polls say. In 2016 they all said Hilary would win. I think Biden has too much baggage with his son, his health and the billion he held up to Ukraine when he was V.P. I think Warren would be a better choice, She has less baggage and being a woman would pick up more of the woman votes. JMHO or my perception.

Saw these clips on TV and in this DT article, Pres. Trump shows he's (NOT) the Man to have in a crisis. Frankly it's unbelievable :o ??? We weep for Italy and hope that we don't weep for anywhere else . . . .

""The President of the United States was seeking to reassure the nation about the coronavirus outbreak. Where better to make a statement than at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta? To ram home the import of the president’s words, he was flanked by the center’s director, Robert Redfield, and the administration’s Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Asar. So far, so good. But then Donald Trump opened his mouth.

“I like this stuff. You know my uncle was a great person. He was at MIT. He taught at MIT for, I think, like, a record number of years. He was a great supergenius, Dr John Trump.”

Uh-huh. Anything else, Mr President?

“I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it... Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”

Maybe he should have. The lesson is that whatever experts a politician surrounds himself with, if he wants to ramble off into unknown, irrelevant and, frankly, terrifying territory at a time of national crisis, he will do so if he is narcissistic and ego-driven enough.""

President Trump declares a 'State of Emergency' just two weeks after dismissing the Corona virus epidemic as a 'Democrat hoax'. Words fail . . .

"Taken together, this is a massive failure in leadership that stems from a massive defect in character. Trump is such a habitual liar that he is incapable of being honest, even when being honest would serve his interests. He is so impulsive, shortsighted, and undisciplined that he is unable to plan or even think beyond the moment. He is such a divisive and polarizing figure that he long ago lost the ability to unite the nation under any circumstances and for any cause. And he is so narcissistic and unreflective that he is completely incapable of learning from his mistakes. The president’s disordered personality makes him as ill-equipped to deal with a crisis as any president has ever been."

On Monday, when Trump tweeted that the coronavirus was not as perilous as the flu, he said, “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!” (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-mixed-messages/like-the-flu-trumps-coronavirus-messaging-confuses-public-pandemic-researchers-say-idUSKBN2102GY)

Picking up the theme, if that test had been positive, I wonder if it would have been a 'hoax' but otherwise we'd both hope I'm sure, that Pres. Trump would recover completely and be bouncier than ever before, in about 8 months time, just after the 2020 election ;)

"Donald Trump is suggesting the United States should treat Germany more like an enemy because the two countries were adversaries in World War II as the president again lobbied for closer US-Russian relations."

"Brett Crozier, the US Navy captain who was removed from his command this week after he wrote a memo expressing concern for the health of crew members exposed to coronavirus, has himself tested positive, the New York Times first reported. Crozier was dismissed as captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, after writing a letter alerting navy leaders that Covid-19 aboard the vessel was threatening the lives of his sailors. “The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating,” he wrote. As he left the ship following his dismissal, Crozier was cheered exuberantly by his former crew".

I believe him about the ratings. Meanwhile, others change the channel or mute the volume when Trump appears; same as they do when The Bachelor comes on. I'm sure there's a correlation in there somewhere. ;)

The USA, no doubt chastened by it's Trump/Covid-19 experiences, has Presidential elections in October. Joe Biden is the great hope now for the Democrats ??? At 77 I think he's rather old for the job - however maybe his 'running mate' will be younger.

Rumours abound that Michelle Obama will stand with him - I hope she does. . . .

"Former first lady Michelle Obama is back in play big time as a favorite to be Joe Biden’s running mate. As Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday made a surprise endorsement of Biden in a warm and humorous video chat, the focus turned to Biden’s pick for vice president and gambling markets charted by Oddschecker.com saw a surge of support for Obama.

“Michelle Obama has been the most backed person in the market, accounting for almost 32% of all bets,” the firm said. Spokesman Pete Watt told us, “Following Biden’s announcement that his VP would be female, plenty of names are being thrown into the ring, and the latest to attract a significant amount of attention is the former FLOTUS, Michelle Obama.” "

"Protestors chanted 'fire Fauci' at a coronavirus lockdown rally in Austin, Texas, on Saturday - they were referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top immunologist and infectious disease expert.Kim Pagan, of Toms River, New Jersey, was arrested for organizing the anti-lockdown rally in Trenton.Gov. Phil Murphy first implemented the coronavirus emergency orders last month.Several COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests were held by upset citizens around the United States on Friday Protests happened in places like New Hampshire, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey. Anti-Trump activists laid makeshift body bags in front of Trump's properties to protest his outbreak response. President Trump doubled down on his tweets to 'LIBERATE' Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia.He told reporters at Friday's White House briefing that the Democratic governors in those three states could have gotten the same result with less restrictions.Trump also said the protesters, many of whom were Trump supporters, were 'treated a little bit rough'"

From Covid-19 day 1, it was evident that Trump was in cloud cuckoo land - it's great to have this in review and just so clear to see

https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=MaUoeVt5bHg&feature=youtu.be

Pres. Trump's latest grand certainty - that the virus definitely originated in THE Wuhan Lab - might have been stimulated by the following ?? (Someone should definitely confiscate Trump's phone (and Presidency) LOL)

Tasuku Honjo - in 2018, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with James P. Allison - discoveries connected with the new cancer drugs, such as 'Keytruda', known as 'checkpoint inhibitors.. Over a quiet beer the other eve, my Danish Pal showed me comments purported to come from Tasuku Honjo in which it was claimed that Honjo was talking about having worked for years in THAT Wuhan Lab and having said he was now unable to contact any of the Scientists he knew there before ????

From Covid-19 day 1, it was evident that Trump was in cloud cuckoo land - it's great to have this in review and just so clear to see

https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=MaUoeVt5bHg&feature=youtu.be

Pres. Trump's latest grand certainty - that the virus definitely originated in THE Wuhan Lab - might have been stimulated by the following ?? (Someone should definitely confiscate Trump's phone (and Presidency) LOL)

Tasuku Honjo - in 2018, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with James P. Allison - discoveries connected with the new cancer drugs, such as 'Keytruda', known as 'checkpoint inhibitors.. Over a quiet beer the other eve, my Danish Pal showed me comments purported to come from Tasuku Honjo in which it was claimed that Honjo was talking about having worked for years in THAT Wuhan Lab and having said he was now unable to contact any of the Scientists he knew there before ????

Something afoot ? I would never wish CV-19 on anyone, but that said, if Trump himself were to be infected, in view of all his scorn and idiocy, there would be a sort of 'poetic justice' to the matter. :(

"The press secretary to the US vice-president has coronavirus, the White House has said, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the aide of Mike Pence, said he was "not worried" about the virus spreading in the White House, which said it was taking "every single precaution to protect the president"."

"If Mr Trump’s own defence secretary not only opposes military deployment but is willing to say so publicly, what must US generals be thinking behind closed doors? If so concerned was Mr Mattis that he was willing to break his “duty of silence”, is it fair to speculate that those he served with less than two years ago could have similar views? And if so, what does that mean if Mr Trump does try to follow through on his pledge to deploy soldiers if the lawlessness continues?"

The DM is good at pics but some of these are worrying. From the look on General Mark Milley's face - I don't think the Don should mess with him ??? Also, in the first pic of Mark Esper, Defence Secretary - he reminds me of Harrison Ford ;) ?

Bad times in the USA with all this palava and CV-19 too. I wonder what the USA K-F's think ? ATB